title: Threatened preterm labour - analysis of the cytokine profile and progesterone treatment efficiency.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preterm labour is defined as the onset of labour between weeks 23 and before 37 of gestation. The purpose of this study was to compare the cytokine profile in the blood serum of patients experiencing threatened premature labour, along with the time of delivery and the foetus body mass at birth.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 89 women hospitalised at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinical Hospital in the period 2011-2013. Group 1 comprised 31 patients diagnosed with threatened preterm labour, prior to tocolytic treatment. Group 2 comprised 32 patients with tocolytic treatment. Group 3 constituted the control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Groups 1, 2 and 3 differed considerably in terms of the week of delivery of pregnancy (p = 0.006). Analogous results were obtained by analysing the body mass at birth, where a statistically significant difference in body mass at birth was found between Groups 1, 2 and 3 (p  < 0.001). Our analysis focussed on the cytokine profile of the women included in the study, but no considerable changes in cytokine concentration were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No statistically significant differences were found in the cytokine profile among those patients in normally progressing pregnancy or in threatened preterm labour. No suitability of progesterone treatment in threatened preterm labour was observed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Maternal and Child Health , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chmaj-Wierzchowska
authors.affiliation: a Department of Maternal and Child Health , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Olejniczak
authors.affiliation: a Department of Maternal and Child Health , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tuzel
authors.affiliation: a Department of Maternal and Child Health , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niepsuj-Biniaś
authors.affiliation: a Department of Maternal and Child Health , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Izabela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaczorowska
authors.affiliation: b Department of Immunology , Division of Clinical Immunology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Husam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Samara
authors.affiliation: c Department of Histology and Embryology , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Budna
authors.affiliation: d Clinic of Perinatology and Gynecology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland , and.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dera-Szymanowska
authors.affiliation: e Department of Pediatric Pulmonology , Allergy and Clinical Immunology, IIIrd Departments of Pediatrics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Olejniczak
authors.affiliation: a Department of Maternal and Child Health , Poznan University of Medical Sciences , Poznan , Poland.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Szymanowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015145:Tocolysis / Q000379:methods; D015149:Tocolytic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015149:Tocolytic Agents; D011374:Progesterone
keywords: Delivery; infections; neonatology; physiology of reproduction; prenatal care