Background Because of the limited data concerning drug risks in pregnancy, health professionals are often deprived of relevant and sufficient information related to prescribing or dispensing during pregnancy. However, previous studies have emphasised the widespread French prescription of several drugs (sometimes "typically French") which have not been assessed in pregnant women. Objectives The aim of the present study was to create the first French database of drugs prescribed and dispensed during pregnancy and the outcome of these pregnancies. Methods This feasibility study concerns pregnant women who gave birth to a baby between 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 in Haute-Garonne and who are registered in the French Health Insurance Service. Data sources include (1) the French Health Insurance Database (drugs prescribed during pregnancy), (2) the Mother and Child Protection Centre Database (newborn health at birth and 9 months after) and (3) the Antenatal Diagnostic Centre Database (medical pregnancy interruptions). Results The database is composed of 10,174 "motheroutcome" pairs. The prevalence rate of congenital anomalies was 2.2%. Pregnant women were prescribed 11.3±8.2 different drugs. Among the 20 most frequently prescribed drugs, around half of them have not been evaluated in pregnant women. Conclusions The first results of this study show that implementation of a French database on prescription of drugs and pregnancy outcomes is feasible. Compared with several databases available in other countries, EFEMERIS provides exact data on period of exposure to drugs, pregnancy terminations, and follow up of the baby 9 months after birth. Recording these data would make it possible to assess the risk of malformations due Eur J Clin Pharmacol (2009) to a greater number of drugs and would contribute to international drug evaluation studies.

No abstract

Antenatal detection of mesoblastic nephroma by US is possible. Reviewing the literature, we found 19 previously reported cases, only 1 of which underwent prenatal MRI. We present a further case diagnosed by US and confirmed with MRI. The imaging findings and differential diagnoses are discussed. Early and correct detection of this rare entity is of great interest, as it may facilitate prevention and management of severe obstetric and neonatal complications such as polyhydramnios and prematurity. MRI can help to evaluate the origin and the morphological features of a fetal abdominal mass.

We suggest that prenatal MRI has diagnostic value when synostosis is suspected on ultrasonography. Moreover, MRI is accurate in the detection of associated brain abnormalities, which is an important prognostic issue in this diagnosis. Prenatal diagnosis of craniosynostosis is difficult and could benefit from three-dimensional ultrasonography and three-dimensional CT.

A case of agnathia-astomia-holoprosencephaly with prenatal ultrasound diagnosis at 23 weeks is reported and discussed. This lethal neurocristopathy, well known in mammalians, is rarely observed in humans. Prenatal diagnosis features are intrauterine growth retardation, mandibular absence or major hypoplasia, holoprosencephaly, cyclopia or hypotelorism, and in some instances frontal proboscis. This malformation is usually sporadic, but may be genetically determined as an autosomal recessive trait, since two cases in the same sibship have been reported.