Drugs by extent of toxicity
Maternal drugs can be arbitrarily subdivided into groups according to the degree of toxicity to the child:
- drugs which should never be taken due to proven or theoretical toxicity; the toxicity is either:
- dose-related
- non-dose-related e.g. hypersensitivity reactions; glucose-6-phosphate deficiency and nitrofurantoin
- drugs which should be used cautiously e.g. carbimazole, when infant thyroid function should be monitored, and antihistamines due to minor depression of consciousness
- drugs which are deemed safe, either because they are not produced in milk, absorbed by the child e.g. the gut destruction of insulin, or produce low plasma concentrations without known deleterious effect in the child
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