Oral antifungal drug linked to higher rates of miscarriage: Study

According to a new study, pregnant women may be at a higher risk of miscarriage if they take a commonly used medication, fluconazole which is used to treat vaginal yeast infections.

The results of the study were published in 'CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)'.

While topical treatments are the first in line for pregnant women with fungal infections, oral fluconazole is often used during pregnancy.

Researchers looked at a data comprising 949 pregnancies from the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort between 1998 and 2015, linking to filled prescriptions listed in the Quebec Prescription Drug Insurance database.

They found that taking oral fluconazole was linked to adverse outcomes.

"Our study shows that taking any dose of oral fluconazole while pregnant may be associated with a higher chance of miscarriage," said Dr. Anick Berard.

"Taking higher doses of fluconazole over 150 mg in early pregnancy may be linked to a higher chance of a newborn with a heart defect," added Berard.

Fluconazole is not recommended during pregnancy, particularly in the first 12 weeks because a few previous researches have linked long-term, high-dose fluconazole exposure to craniofacial and skeletal birth defects.

However, previous studies have found no association between oral fluconazole and miscarriage, also known as spontaneous abortion.