[Treatment of preterm delivery with calcium channel blockers--Nifedipine].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the feasibility of the calcium antagonist Nifedipine as an oral tocolytic for the treatment of preterm labor.


METHODS
Thirty-seven pregnant women in preterm labor participated in a prospective longitudinal study. Inclusion criteria were: gestational age between 24 and 32 weeks gestation; uterine contractions in 30 min interval; lack of cervical dilatation and lack of contraindications for tocolysis. In all cases the calcium antagonist Nifedipine was used in dosage 4 x 10 mg per os. The clinical response to tocolysis, gestational age at delivery and potential side effects were analyzed.


RESULTS
Forty-one pregnant women participated in the study. Two were lost for follow up and another two cases were excluded because myoma uteri was diagnosed. Thirty-seven pregnancies were finally analyzed. In five of them maternal contractions persisted despite of treatment which necessitated parenteral tocolysis. In two of these five cases the pregnancy was terminated (1--spontalneous abortion in 26 w.g., 1--preterm delivery at 32 w.g.). The other 32 pregnancies were delivered at term without any side effects attributed the treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Nifedipine is an effective oral tocolytic and a rational alternative to other tocolytic agents in the management of preterm labour.
Nikolov
A
A
Markov
D
D
Dimitrov
A
A
Ivanov
S
S
Diavolov
V
V
D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015149:Tocolytic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015149:Tocolytic Agents; D009543:Nifedipine