The first line Treatment of preterm labor at CSI Kalyani hospital Chennai was hydration and bed rest followed by tocolytics, the hospital followed a treatment protocol with nifedipine. A total of 48 patients with singleton pregnancies at a gestational age between 28-36 weeks were selected according to the protocol to receive nifedipine. The meta-analysis showed similarities with respect to the age at preterm labor, a status of gravid, suppression of preterm labor, prolongation of pregnancies, adverse events, neonatal outcomes by apgar scores. The results confirmed that nifedipine is a growing calcium channel blocker as a safe and potential drug in the treatment of preterm labor especially in situations where a woman needs a full course of corticosteroids for fetal lung maturation or transfer to the hospital that can provide neonatal intensive care.
Keywords
Nifedipine, Preterm labor, Tocolytics
INTRODUCTION
Preterm birth is the primary determinant of any adverse infant outcome. Many researches have shown that the use of tocolytics during preterm significantly prolongs the delivery thereby helps in completing a course of corticosteroids or in utero transfer. Drugs play an important role in improving human health and promoting well-being. However, to produce the desired effect, they have to be safe, efficacious and have to be used rationally. In pregnancy, drug treatment presents a special concern due to the threat of potential teratogenic effects of the drug and physiologic adjustments in the mother, in response to pregnancy. However, it has been documented that congenital abnormalities caused by human teratogenic drugs account for less than 1% of total congenital abnormalities1.
