MEPHENYTOIN

Fetal Risk Summary

Mephenytoin is a hydantoin anticonvulsant similar to phenytoin (see Phenytoin). The drug is infrequently prescribed because of the greater incidence of serious side effects as compared with phenytoin (1). There have been reports of 12 infants with 1st trimester exposure to mephenytoin (2,3,4 and 5). No evidence of adverse fetal effects was found.

Breast Feeding Summary

No data are available.

References

1. Rall TW, Shleifer LS. Drugs effective in the treatment of the epilepsies. In Goodman AG, Goodman LS, Gilman A, eds. The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. 6th ed. New York, NY: MacMillan Publishing, 1980:456.
2. Fedrick J. Epilepsy and pregnancy: a report from the Oxford Linkage Study. Br Med J 1973;2:442–8.
3. Heinonen O, Slone D, Shapiro S. Birth Defects and Drugs in Pregnancy. Littleton, MA: Publishing Sciences Group, 1977:358–9.
4. Annegers JF, Elveback LR, Hauser WA, Kurland LT. Do anticonvulsants have a teratogenic effect? Arch Neurol 1974;31:364–73.
5. Speidel BD, Meadow SR. Maternal epilepsy and abnormalities of the fetus and newborn. Lancet 1972;2:839–43.