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Clinical Note
September 2006

Antenatal Carbimazole and Choanal Atresia: A New Embryopathy

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations: Department of Otolaryngology, St George's Hospital, Tooting, London (Messrs Wolf and Daya), and Department of Genetics, Southampton University Hospital, Southampton (Dr Foulds), England.

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2006;132(9):1009-1011. doi:10.1001/archotol.132.9.1009
Abstract

Carbimazole embryopathy is a recently recognized and defined phenotype. Choanal atresia; gastrointestinal anomalies, particularly esophageal atresia; athelia or hypothelia; developmental delay; hearing loss; aplasia cutis; and dysmorphic facial features all can occur after exposure to the antithyroid drugs carbimazole or methimazole during gestation. Although full expression of this phenotype appears to be an uncommon sequelae of antenatal carbimazole exposure, infants with less overt manifestations may remain with the condition undiagnosed. It is clearly important when an infant with choanal atresia is assessed to take an adequate drug history and consider this embryopathy as a potential causative factor.

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