Antiepileptic drug exposure during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk for congenital malformations and delayed cognitive development in the offspring,^1-3 but little is known about the risk of other serious neuropsychiatric disorders. Autistic symptoms have been described in case series of children exposed in utero to valproic acid,^4-7 and it has been suggested that valproate given to animals during pregnancy may constitute an experimental model of autism.^8-10

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication and the presence of restricted interests and repetitive behaviors.^1,2

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are child neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication and by repetitive behavior. The reported prevalence of ASDs has increased markedly during the past 3 decades.^1-5 The current ASD prevalence in children is estimated to be approximately 1%⁴ but has been reported to be as high as 2.6%.⁶ The apparent increase in ASD prevalence has led to much debate about how much can be attributed to a real increase in incidence owing to etiologic factors compared with the effects of nonetiologic factors, such as changes in reporting practices, greater public awareness, changes in referral patterns, and a decreasing age at diagnosis.⁷ The unexplained increase in ASD prevalence has raised considerable public concern, with a possible effect on some parents’ health care decisions for their children. For example, the claimed connection between the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and autism⁸ may have had a negative effect on some parents’ decisions regarding vaccination of their children. In fact, vaccination rates have declined in Denmark and other countries after the vaccine-autism connection was claimed,^9,10 followed by a significant increase in measles and mumps cases.^10,11

OBJECTIVE: Few data exist on pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality. This study is the first to evaluate actual in-hospital pediatric CPR. We hypothesized that with bedside CPR training and corrective feedback, CPR quality can approach American Heart Association (AHA) targets.

OBJECTIVES: Results of animal studies suggest that maternal immune activation during pregnancy causes deficiencies in fetal neurodevelopment. Infectious disease is the most common path to maternal immune activation during pregnancy. The goal of this study was to determine the occurrence of common infections, febrile episodes, and use of antibiotics reported by the mother during pregnancy and the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and infantile autism in the offspring. METHODS: We used a population-based cohort consisting of 96 736 children aged 8 to 14 years and born from 1997 to 2003 in Denmark. Information on infection, febrile episodes, and use of antibiotics was self-reported through telephone interviews during pregnancy and early postpartum. Diagnoses of ASD and infantile autism were retrieved from the Danish Psychiatric Central Register; 976 children (1%) from the cohort were diagnosed with ASD. RESULTS: Overall, we found little evidence that various types of mild common infectious diseases or febrile episodes during pregnancy were associated with ASD/infantile autism. However, our data suggest that maternal influenza infection was associated with a twofold increased risk of infantile autism, prolonged episodes of fever caused a threefold increased risk of infantile autism, and use of various antibiotics during pregnancy were potential risk factors for ASD/infantile autism. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not suggest that mild infections, febrile episodes, or use of antibiotics during pregnancy are strong risk factors for ASD/infantile autism. The results may be due to multiple testing; the few positive findings are potential chance findings.