Birth Defects with the Use of Valproate: An Impact on the Prescribing Pattern amongst the Health Care Professionals in India

Objective: The present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) initiative to reduce the use of sodium valproate/valproic acid (SV/VA) in the women of childbearing age group. Methods: In our questionnaire-based study, 251 health care professionals (HCPs) participated from 41 medical colleges across India, which are also working as Adverse drug reaction Monitoring Centres (AMCs) under PvPI. Results: The data collected at the National Coordination Centre (NCC) shows the significant decrease in the use of SV/VA in the women of childbearing age group after the PvPI initiative on Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials for HCPs. However, it was found that 40% of HCPs of Gynecology and Neurology Department were still not aware of the initiative taken by the Government of India to reduce the use of SV/VA in the women of childbearing age group. Conclusion: PvPI, therefore, needs to take more measures to increase the reach of their resource materials to all HCPs.