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Venlafaxine in the first trimester of pregnancy: possible risk of birth defects, especially cardiac malformations

 Adverse Effects  Venlafaxine is more dangerous than "selective" serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants. It has been on Prescrire's list of drugs to avoid since 2014. As of 2023, various studies have shown that venlafaxine use during the first trimester of pregnancy carries a risk of birth defects, especially cardiac malformations.
Full article (2 pages) available for download by subscribers

Venlafaxine is an antidepressant of the serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor class. As with other serotonergic drugs, its use during the second or third trimesters of pregnancy can provoke potentially serious adverse effects in both the woman and the unborn child.

In a large case-control study published in 2020, using data from a US registry of birth defects, first-trimester exposure to venlafaxine was associated with a 2- to 9-fold increase in certain malformations: heart defects, orofacial clefts, neural tube defects and gastroschisis.

©Prescrire 1 July 2023

Source: "Venlafaxine in the first trimester of pregnancy: possible risk of birth defects, especially cardiac malformations" Prescrire International 2023; 32 (250): 185-186. Subscribers only.

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