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Meta-Analysis
. 1997 Aug;44(2):179-82.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2125.1997.00660.x.

Is metronidazole teratogenic? A meta-analysis

T Caro-Patón  1 , A Carvajal, I Martin de Diego, L H Martin-Arias, A Alvarez Requejo, E Rodríguez Pinilla
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Is metronidazole teratogenic? A meta-analysis

T Caro-Patón et al. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1997 Aug.

Abstract

Aim: In order to assess whether the use of metronidazole during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of congenital malformations, a meta-analysis was conducted.

Methods: All epidemiological studies (cohort and case-control) which estimate risk of congenital malformations after exposure to metronidazole during early pregnancy were included in the meta-analysis. To obtain a summary odds ratio, the Mantel-Haenszel method was used. A test to verify absence of heterogeneity was also performed.

Results: One unpublished case-control and four published cohort studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were not statistically heterogeneous. A summary odds ratio was calculated for metronidazole exposure during the first trimester: OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.90-1.29, heterogeneity test chi2 = 4.72, P = 0.32.

Conclusions: This meta-analysis did not find any relationship between metronidazole exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy and birth defects.

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