More Evidence That Ondansetron Is Safe During Pregnancy

Ondansetron is commonly prescribed for nausea during early pregnancy; however, a prior study raised the possibility of excess risk for cardiac malformations and oral clefts in newborns of women who received intravenous ondansetron during the first trimester. Investigators queried Medicaid data from 2000 through 2014 for pregnancy outcomes of >1.8 million women, including 24,000 (1.3%) who received first-trimester intravenous ondansetron.

Neither risk for cardiac malformations nor risk for oral clefts was increased in offspring of women treated with intravenous ondansetron compared with those who did not receive this medication.