RETINOIC ACID (ACCUTANE) EMBRYOPATHY

RISK OF EMBRYOPATHY

• 35% risk to offspring of women who continue to take accutane beyond the 15th day after conception.
• There are no affected babies born to women who stopped taking accutane prior to the 15th day.
• There is no evidence to suggest that maternal use prior to conception is teratogenic.

ABNORMALITIES

• Craniofacial.
• Bilateral microtia and / or anotia with stenosis of external auditory canal.
• Facial nerve paralysis ipsilateral to the malformed ear.
• Accessory parietal sutures.
• Micropthalmia.
• Flat depressed nasal bridge and ocular hypertelorism.
• Abnormal mottled teeth and hair pattern.
• Cardiovascular.
• TGV, Tetralogy of Fallot, DORV, Truncus arteriosus, interrupted aortic arch, hypoplastic left ventricle.
• Central Nervous System.
• Microcephaly.
• Hydrocephalus.
• Disorders of neuronal migration.
• Posterior fossa anomalies (cerebellar hypoplasia, vermian dysgenesis, mega-cisterna magna).
• Thyroid and parathyroid abnormalities.
• Subnormal intelligence.