[Combined fetal alcohol and hydantoin syndromes]

Ethanol and hydantoin are both teratogenic drugs of common usage and are associated with specific syndromes. This is a report on two children born to different heavy drinking, mentally abnormal epileptic women, that were also under treatment with 300 mg/day of hydantoin (mother of case 1 on a regular basis and that of case 2 sporadically) during pregnancy. Both infants displayed the syndrome due to both of these drugs. Particularly relevant were failure to thrive, severe mental retardation, microcephaly, blepharophimosis, hypertelorism, and long philtrum. Additional findings in case 1 included nail hypoplasia and in case 2 palatine fissure. Case 1 died unexpectedly at age three months. Case 2 is still alive and he is severely mentally retarded at age four years.