%0 Journal Article %A HUBERTINA J.M.J. CRIJNS %A JANNEKE JENTINK %A ESTER GARNE %A CHRISTINE C. GISPEN-de WIED %A SABINE M.J.M. STRAUS %A LOLKJE T.W. de JONG-van den BERG %T The Distribution of Congenital Anomalies Within the VACTERL Association Among Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonist-exposed Pregnancies Is Similar to the General Population %D 2011 %R 10.3899/jrheum.101316 %J The Journal of Rheumatology %P 1871-1874 %V 38 %N 9 %X Objective. To compare the distribution of congenital anomalies within the VACTERL association (vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac, tracheoesophageal, renal, and limb abnormalities) between patients exposed to tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) antagonist and the general population. Methods. Analysis for comparison of proportional differences to a previous publication between anomaly subgroups, according to subgroup definitions of the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT), a population-based database. Results. Most EUROCAT subgroups belonging to the VACTERL association contained only one or 2 records of TNF-α antagonist exposure, so comparison of proportions was imprecise. Only the category “limb abnormalities” showed a significantly higher proportion in the general population. Conclusion. The high number of congenital anomalies belonging to the VACTERL association from a report of pregnancies exposed to TNF-α antagonists could not be confirmed using a population-based congenital anomaly database. %U https://www.jrheum.org/content/jrheum/38/9/1871.full.pdf