Study on placental transfer of diclofenac in first trimester of human pregnancy

Diclofenac is a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug in women of reproductive age. It has teratogenic effects in animals. The aim of thi s study was to investigate the placental transfer of diclofenac in the firs t trimester of human pregnancy. Thirty patients undergoing surgical termina tion of pregnancy between 8 and 12 weeks gestation were given two doses of diclofenac before the procedure. Corresponding samples of maternal serum? a mniotic fluid, coelomic fluid and fetal tissue were analysed by high-perfor mance liquid chromatography. Diclofenac was detectable in all fetal tissue samples, with a concentration similar to that found in maternal venous samp les. However, diclofenac was detectable in only 56.7 and 23.3% of the coelo mic and amniotic fluid samples respectively, and the highest concentration attained was 80 and 5% of the maternal concentration respectively. In summa ry, me confirmed that diclofenac crosses the human placenta readily during the first trimester, Further studies are required to investigate the potent ial teratogenic effect of diclofenac in human embryos.