The Use of Olanzapine in Pregnancy and Congenital Cardiac and Musculoskeletal Abnormalities

To The Editor: There are very few reports concerning the risk of olanzapine treatment during pregnancy, and it is not considered contraindicated for use in pregnant women with psychosis. We report a case of a neonate infant born to a 25-year-old primigravida woman treated with olanzapine for schizophrenia throughout her pregnancy.

Olanzapine was the third atypical antipsychotic to gain approval by the Food and Drug Administration and has become one of the most commonly used atypical antipsychotics. Information regarding the safety of the drug during pregnancy has primarily been based on several case reports of women receiving the drug throughout pregnancy or from the second and third trimester onward. Most of the reports have been favorable, reporting no birth abnormalities (1 – 5) . A prospective clinical trial showed no statistically significant differences in any of the pregnancy outcomes between patients receiving atypical antipsychotics relative to a comparison group. The only significant difference between the groups was higher rates of low-birth-weight babies in the treated group of women (6) .

Other case reports in the literature involving treatment with olanzapine throughout pregnancy include a report of a baby born with hip dysplasia (7) as well as reports of a meningocele and ankyloblepharon (8) . Association between schizophrenia itself and congenital cardiac anomalies was suggested recently (9) and therefore could be the reason for the atrioventricular canal in our patient’s baby, regardless of the olanzapine treatment. Additional reports would be helpful in clarifying whether our case was incidental or because of a teratogenic effect of olanzapine, and the limitations of a single case report need to be taken into consideration.