Transplacental Transfer of Bishydroxycoumarin in the Human

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Abstract
TRANSPLACENTAL transfer of the active agent in spoiled sweet clover hay was suggested by Schofield in 1924, even before bishydroxycoumarin (Dicumarol) was isolated. He demonstrated that spoiled sweet clover fed to pregnant cows could lead to abortion or death of the newborn calf from hemorrhage. Quick in 1946 found a hemorrhagic tendency and a prolonged prothrombin time in newborn pups from mothers receiving bishydroxycoumarin. A similar effect was also demonstrated in newborn rabbits by Kraus et al in 1949. Mahairas and Weingold1 noted several reports of fetal or neonatal death with multiple hemorrhages after the administration of bishydroxycoumarin to pregnant human females. In other reports the drug was found harmless even during labor. Theoretically, the small molecular weight of bishydroxycoumarin (336.29) should facilitate its transfer across the placenta by simple diffusion, while its high degree of binding to serum albumin2 should have the opposite effect. To our knowledge