The Relationship Between the Prenatal Exposure to Terbinafine and Abnormal Skin Development in the Newborn Rats

The aim of our study is to investigate the safety of terbinafine usage in pregnancy. This study was designed to investigate the teratogenic effects of prenatal terbinafine exposure in newborn rats in terms of macroscopic organ anomalies, anthropometric scales and abnormalities in skin development. Female Wistar-Albino rats (250–300 g) were randomly divided into a control group (physiological saline, during pregnancy; n=6), group A (terbinafine treatment, 20 mg/kg/day, for 21 days; n=6), group B (terbinafine treatment, 20 mg/kg/day, for 51 days; n=6) and group C (terbinafine treatment, 60 mg/kg/day, for 21 days; n=6). After birth, five rat pups from each experimental group were sacrificed by intracardiac infusion of 10% formalin. Skin biopsies were performed from the abdominal region and prepared for light microscopic analysis. Hyperkeratosis, epidermal atrophy and disordered epidermal cell lineage were demonstrated in all terbinafine doses with increase in severity at higher doses. Damage to hair follicles was observed in groups B and C. In conclusion, terbinafine exposure during pregnancy can cause abnormalities of the skin and growth retardation in newborn rats, and the effects vary depending upon application time and dose.