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Updated: Sep 9, 2025

Ex Vivo Expansion of Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Human Umbilical Cord Blood-derived CD34+ Cells Using Valproic Acid
Published on: April 11, 2019
Use of Valproic Acid Among Women of Childbearing Age and Its Concomitant Use With Contraceptives in Colombia
Jorge E Machado-Alba1, Andrés Gaviria-Mendoza1,2, Manuel E Machado-Duque1,2
1Grupo de Investigación en Farmacoepidemiología y Farmacovigilancia, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira-Audifarma S.A, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
Purpose:
Valproic acid is a known teratogen. The aim was to identify contraceptive use in a group of women using valproic acid.
Methods:
Descriptive study. A total of 22 855 women of childbearing age (15-49 years) with at least 1 month of valproic acid use from January 2022 to December 2023 were selected from a Colombian drug-dispensing database. Data on the dispensing of hormonal contraceptives were searched during the study period. The time and rate of coverage (% of the period during which women took contraceptives while using valproic acid/total period of valproic acid consumption) with contraceptives were calculated.
Results:
Among the women included, 71.4% (n = 16 308) used 250-mg valproic acid tablets. The mean age was 32.7 (standard deviation [SD]: 9.9) years, and the most common related diagnosis was migraine and headache (n = 5163, 22.6%). Only 8.0% (n = 1832) of the women had at least 1 day of coverage with some contraceptive while using valproate. For the patients with at least 1 day of coverage, the average duration of coverage was 72.5 (SD: 84.7) days (median: 30 days; IQR: 30-86 days). This represents an overall coverage rate of 5.3% (SD: 20.4%) (median: 0.0) and a coverage rate of 65.7% (SD: 35.1%) (median: 75.8%, IQR: 33.3-100%) for those with at least 1 day of coverage.
Conclusions:
A significant proportion of women of childbearing age are likely at risk of becoming pregnant while taking valproic acid.
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