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Transient neonatal jitteriness due to maternal use of sertraline (Zoloft)

Roberto P Santos1, James J Pergolizzi

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, 750 East Adam Street, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA.

Journal of Perinatology : Official Journal of the California Perinatal Association
|May 29, 2004
PubMed

We describe the occurrence of marked jitteriness and an enhanced startle response in a term infant after being exposed to sertraline in utero. An umbilical cord blood sample taken at the time of birth showed a sertraline concentration (<10 ng/mL) below the reference range. On the third day during the peak of the symptoms, sertraline plasma concentration was <10 ng/mL, while his serotonin level (6 ng/mL) was below the reference range. The neurologic symptoms resolved by the fifth day. To date, there are no reports of transient neonatal jitteriness with maternal use of sertraline documented with low cord and neonatal plasma samples consistent with withdrawal syndrome.

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