ACOG Response to FDA Communication on Anesthesia in Pregnancy

Learning Objectives and CME/Disclosure Information

This activity is intended for healthcare providers delivering care to women and their families.

After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

1. Relate key elements the FDA warning regarding anesthesia in pregnancy
2. Discuss ACOG’s concerns in their response to the FDA warning

Estimated time to complete activity: 0.25 hours

Faculty:

Susan J. Gross, MD, FRCSC, FACOG, FACMG
President and CEO, The ObG Project

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) requires instructors, planners, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest (COI) they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified COI are thoroughly vetted and resolved according to PIM policy. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high quality CME activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.

Faculty: Susan J. Gross, MD, receives consulting fees from Genoox, Inc., and has financial interest in The ObG Project, Inc.

Planners and Managers: The PIM planners and managers, Trace Hutchison, PharmD, Samantha Mattiucci, PharmD, CHCP, Judi Smelker-Mitchek, MBA, MSN, RN, and Jan Schultz, MSN, RN, CHCP have nothing to disclose.

Method of Participation and Request for Credit

Fees for participating and receiving CME credit for this activity are as posted on The ObG Project website. During the period from Dec 31 2017 through Dec 31 2020, participants must read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures and study the educational activity.

If you wish to receive acknowledgment for completing this activity, please complete the post-test and evaluation. Upon registering and successfully completing the post-test with a score of 100% and the activity evaluation, your certificate will be made available immediately.

For Pharmacists: Upon successfully completing the post-test with a score of 100% and the activity evaluation form, transcript information will be sent to the NABP CPE Monitor Service within 4 weeks.

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and The ObG Project. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician Continuing Medical Education

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Continuing Nursing Education

The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 0.2 contact hours.

Read Disclaimer & Fine Print

SUMMARY:

In 2016, the FDA released a warning stating that repeated or lengthy use of general anesthetic or sedation drugs in children less than 3 years of age or in pregnant women in their 3^rd trimester may be harmful to children’s brain development. The FDA issued an update (2017) requiring warnings to be added to labels of these medications. The FDA does point out in the update that the concern relates to procedures >3 hours and that most surgeries in the 3rd trimester are generally well within that time frame. Therefore, the FDA safety communication states

We are advising that in these situations, pregnant women should not delay or avoid surgeries or procedures during pregnancy, as doing so can negatively affect themselves and their infants

In response to the initial warning, ACOG released a practice advisory (2016) making the following important points

The data used to derive this warning were obtained from a pediatric study only – no pregnant women were included
There are potential negative clinical implications if healthcare professionals hesitate in providing appropriate care and management
The FDA did not seek input from ACOG and obsetetrician-gynecologists were not involved in the development of this warning

As a result of the above and based on current evidence

ACOG continues to recommend that women in any trimester of pregnancy should be counseled regarding evidence-based benefits and risks of any proposed interventions which may involve the use of general anesthetic or sedative agents, and no woman should be denied a medically indicated surgery or procedure which may involve the use of these agents

ACOG and the American Society for Anesthesiologists (2019) confirmed the above in their committee opinion and state that presently there is “no evidence that in utero human exposure to anesthetic or sedative drugs has any effect on the developing fetal brain.”