Terminations of pregnancy associated with isotretinoin use in New Zealand

Oral isotretinoin is a highly-effective treatment for severe acne. It is also highly teratogenic. Recently, funded access was widened (from vocationally registered dermatologists only) to include vocationally trained general practitioners and nurse practitioners acting within their scope of practice. This decision has caused some debate. While it is hoped that it will increase access to those living in more deprived areas, there are concerns that there will be an increase in the number of affected pregnancies. This study aims to report on terminations of pregnancy occurring while using isotretinoin in New Zealand.

Using NHI numbers, termination of pregnancy admissions were matched to recent isotretinoin prescriptions.

This study has revealed that there appears to have been more unintended pregnancies related to isotretinoin use than previously thought. A total of 39 terminations of pregnancy related to isotretinoin use were identified in the year ending June 2008. This gave a crude termination of pregnancy rate of 73 per 10,000 females aged 10-44 years.

While there are some limitations to this study, the results are consistent with recent international research suggesting previous pregnancy rates on isotretinoin have been underestimates. Widening funding of isotretinoin will likely increase the absolute numbers of pregnancies but also has the potential to increase relative numbers. As such, it will be vital that primary care is alert to the risks of isotretinoin use and gain experience in its day-to-day usage. Although access has been widened, all requests for funding will now be recorded on a national database (Special Authority database) to enable closer monitoring of isotretinoin usage.