The Medicine Safety Committee has updated the "Safer Prescribing aide-memoire" for primary care which provides guidance on safe prescribing of sodium valproate (for women of child bearing age) in line with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recomendations.
It includes a summary of how to manage these patients within primary care, links to clinical resources and searches/ templates available on clinical systems (EMIS Web and SystmOne)
The Medicines Safety Committee recommend the MHRA 'Guidance on contraceptive methods and frequency of pregnancy testing to reduce inadvertent exposures during pregnancy in a woman taking a medicine of teratogenic potential' which can be found in the link below.
aide-memoire_table-2024.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
The Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System Area Prescribing Committee have agreed an updated AMBER shared care document for valproate for people of childbearing potential aged under 55 with:
Licensed uses:
- Epilepsy
- Treatment of mania in bipolar disorder
- Continuation of treatment after a manic episode
Off label uses (refer to primary care responsibilities in shared care document for advice)
- Mood stabiliser in mood disorders and primary psychotic disorders, under the direction of a consultant psychiatrist
- Prevention of atypical antipsychotic-induced seizures
- Management of compulsive and aggressive behaviour
