Paxil Drug Recall Attorneys
Serving Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and surrounding areas
If you or a loved one has used Paxil while pregnant and gave birth to a baby suffering from heart or lung defects, you may be entitled to compensation. The popular SSRI antidepressant drug Paxil (generic: paroxetine), used by millions of Americans, has been linked to a variety of severe birth defects, including persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), and heart, lung, abdominal, and cranial defects.
Congenital heart defects
In December 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Public Health Advisory regarding Paxil, which was based upon two separate studies done by U.S. and Swedish researchers.
The FDA warned doctors and patients that exposure to Paxil during pregnancy posed a serious risk to the fetus and was linked to an increased risk of congenital heart defects.
Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine released the results of a case controlled study wherein Paxil was linked to an increased risk of an infant being born with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). More specifically, the study showed that PPHN was six times more common in infants whose mothers took an SSRI antidepressant during pregnancy compared to babies whose mothers did not take an antidepressant.
Shortly after the study was released, the FDA issued another Public Health Advisory warning that exposure to Paxil during pregnancy posed a serious risk to the fetus and was linked to an increased risk of PPHN.
Abdominal and cranial birth defects
According to information released from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study of Infants, SSRI antidepressants like Paxil may cause two separate congenital abnormalities: omphalocele and craniosynostosis. Omphalocele is a congenital (present at birth) abdominal-wall defect at the base of the umbilical cord; the infant is born with a sac protruding through the defect that contains the small intestine, liver, and large intestine. Craniosynostosis is a congenital defect that causes one or more sutures on a baby’s head to close earlier than normal. Sutures are connections that separate each individual skull bone. The early closing of a suture leads to an abnormally shaped head.
Results from the study prompted Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) to send a letter to doctors and health-care professionals advising them of a change to the Pregnancy subsection of the PRECAUTIONS section in the labels for Paxil regarding the increased risk of omphalocele and craniosynostosis. If you or a loved one has used Paxil while pregnant and gave birth to a baby suffering from one of the conditions listed above, please contact us to learn more about your legal rights.
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