Get to know OTIS. (Drugs, Pregnancy, and Lactation).

BRIGGS is pharmacist clinical specialist, Women's

Hospital, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center; clinical professor of

pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco; and adjunct professor

of pharmacy; University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Health care professionals are free touse

them as educational material for their patients.

Topics covered include caffeine, chickenpox, cocaine,

cytomegalovirus, diabetes, toxoplasmosis, echinacea, fifth disease, hair

treatments, hyperthermia, influenza vaccine, listeriosis, maternal

phenylketonuria, St. Some responses are

made in person or in a letter sent to the caller's health care

practitioner.

Because of the networking system, OTIS has the ability to quickly

call upon their entire organization and outside specialists in

government and private industry anywhere in the world to assist in

formulating a zofran settlement chicago attorney response to almost any inquiry.

OTIS also produces fact sheets for patients that discuss the fetal

effects of pregnancy exposure to a variety of drugs, environmental

chemicals, and diseases. He is a

member of OTIS and a coauthor of the reference book "Drugs in

Pregnancy and Lactation."

COPYRIGHT 2002 International Medical News Group

No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from thecopyright holder.

Copyright 2002 Gale, Cengage Learning. This method

involves detailed physical examinations by dysmorphologists

(pediatricians with special training in the recognition of birth

defects) of newborns born to women enrolled in studies as subjects and

controls.

The research results produced by OTIS members provides a rich

source of information for all of us who counsel pregnant women.

The following are some TIS studies currently underway, with

telephone numbers to call to enroll subjects in the studies.

* The Asthma Medication and Pregnancy Project on the use of asthma

medications during pregnancy, 888-523-4847.

* The Rheumatoid Arthritis and Pregnancy Study, which has a special

interest in the effects of leflunomide (Arava) on the fetus, but will

enroll any pregnant woman with the disease, regardless of whether she is

on drug therapy 877-311-8972.

* A study on the fetal effects of exposure to ondansetron (Zofran),

800-436-8477.

* A study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on why pregnancies continue tooccur in women taking the teratogenic

acne drug isotretinoin (Accutane), 866-626-6847, the OTIS national

referral line.

Individual memberships in OTIS are also available to people with

training or a special interest in teratology.

GERALD G. These centers prospectively collect data on

pregnancy exposures of interest and actively follow up exposed

pregnancies.

The studies use matched controls--women who have called the TIS for

information on exposures known to be nonteratogenic. Allhttp://www.pdr.net/drug-summary/zofran-injection?druglabelid=243 rights reserved.

. John's wort, and paternal exposure.

While the primary function of a TIS is to provide accurate

information regarding pregnancy exposures, research is also an important

component of many centers. Some studies also

use controls matched for the disease.

Studies conducted in the past by OTIS members include the effects

of maternal exposure to ACE inhibitors, sumatriptan, cisapride,

clarithromycin, fluoroquinolones, psychotropic drugs, and varicella

infection.

Recently, members of OTIS's Research Committee detailed a

unique research method that will be used to conduct post-marketing

surveillance for teratogenicity of specific medications. Counselors can calm the fears of

expectant mothers when an exposure involves a nonteratogen and are

compassionate and helpful when the exposure is a known, potent human

teratogen.

Most counselors are familiar with a wide range of related subjects,

including teratology, dysmorphology, toxicology, and pharmacology.

Every year, the TISs receive approximately 75,000 inquiries

regarding pregnancy exposures from health professionals and the public.

Most inquires are made and answered by telephone. Every

geographic region of North America is served by a TIS; most are

affiliated with a university, university hospital, or state health

department. To find a TIS in your area, contact OTIS at 866-626-6847 or

go to their Web site, www.otispregnancy.org.

Each TIS has a staff of one or more counselors, directed by a

teratologist, who provide counseling and risk assessment regarding

potential teratogenic exposures. These fact sheets are available on the OTIS Web

site and from individual TISs.

Many physicians are unfamiliar with the Organization of Teratology

Information Services (OTIS), a group that provides practical information

to health care providers and their patients concerning exposure to

various drugs, chemicals, and other agents in pregnancy.

OTIS is composed of more than 35 Teratology Information Services

(TISs) and individual members in the United States and Canada