Piperazine
Risk Factor: B
Class: ANTI-INFECTIVES
/ Anthelmintics
Contents of this page:
Fetal Risk Summary
Breast Feeding Summary
References
Questions and Answers
Fetal Risk Summary
No published reports linking the use of piperazine with congenital defects have been located. A review of the treatment of threadworm infestation during pregnancy cited a personal communication involving two infants with congenital malformations who were exposed to piperazine (1). One of the infants had bilateral harelip, cleft palate, and anophthalmia, but exposure to piperazine had occurred at 12 and 14 weeks' gestation. The mother in the second case had taken the anthelmintic at 6 and 8 weeks' gestation and her infant had a defect of the right foot. Based on the scarcity of reports, the possibility of a causal relationship in the latter case is probably remote.
The Collaborative Perinatal Project monitored 50,282 mother-child pairs, 3 of which had 1st trimester exposure to piperazine. No evidence was found to suggest a relationship to malformations (2).
Breast Feeding Summary
Piperazine is excreted in breast milk (2), but specific data have not been located. According to one reviewer, the mother should take her dose of the drug immediately following feeding her infant, and then express and discard her milk during the next 8 hours (2).
References
- Heinonen OP, Slone D, Shapiro S. Birth Defects and Drugs in Pregnancy. Littleton, MA: Publishing Sciences Group, 1977:299.
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Leach FN. Management of threadworm infestation during pregnancy. Arch Dis Child 1990;65:399400.
Questions and Answers
hi iam 5 months pregnant with thread worms doctor has given me piperazine but i am still unsure wether to take? has anyone taken this while pregnant or knows someone who has?
The need outweighs the risk. It is probably a greater risk if you continue to have worms. They are sooooo contagious , they don't want your baby to get them. From what I just read piperzine is safer than some of the drugs they give you for this type of infection. I'm sure your doctor has gone over all this you, but you need to get treated ASAP, it is very contagious and all others in your probably have it too.
