Use of Valproic Acid Among Women of Childbearing Age and Its Concomitant Use With Contraceptives in Colombia

Purpose Valproic acid is a known teratogen. The aim was to identify contraceptive use in a group of women using valproic acid. Methods Descriptive study. A total of 22 855 women of childbearing age (15–49 years) with at least 1 month of valproic acid use from January 2022 to December 2023 were selected from a Colombian drug‐dispensing database. Data on the dispensing of hormonal contraceptives were searched during the study period. The time and rate of coverage (% of the period during which women took contraceptives while using valproic acid/total period of valproic acid consumption) with contraceptives were calculated. Results Among the women included, 71.4% ( n = 16 308) used 250‐mg valproic acid tablets. The mean age was 32.7 (standard deviation [SD]: 9.9) years, and the most common related diagnosis was migraine and headache ( n = 5163, 22.6%). Only 8.0% ( n = 1832) of the women had at least 1 day of coverage with some contraceptive while using valproate. For the patients with at least 1 day of coverage, the average duration of coverage was 72.5 (SD: 84.7) days (median: 30 days; IQR: 30–86 days). This represents an overall coverage rate of 5.3% (SD: 20.4%) (median: 0.0) and a coverage rate of 65.7% (SD: 35.1%) (median: 75.8%, IQR: 33.3–100%) for those with at least 1 day of coverage. Conclusions A significant proportion of women of childbearing age are likely at risk of becoming pregnant while taking valproic acid.