Comparison between oral nifedipine alone vs oral nifedipine plus progesterone as tocolytic agent in the treatment of threatened preterm labor

Aim: to compare the efficacy of oral nifedipine alone vs oral nifedipine plus progesterone as tocolytic agent in the treatment of threatened preterm labour methods: a total of 60 patients of threatened preterm labour,16 to 38 years of age with singleton pregnancy of gestational age between 28 to 36 weeks (calculated from lmp) were included in the study. patients with severe pre-eclampsia,diabetes mellitus,h/o renal and hepatic diseases,severe intra-uterine growth retardation (iugr),fetal distress,cervix >2cm dilated and to whom nifedipine was contraindicated were excluded. the selected patients were placed randomly into two groups i.e. group a (oral nifedipine alone) & group b (oral nifidipine plus progesterone),by using lottery method. results: the mean age of women in group a was 24.43�4.98 and in group b was 24.66�4.87 years. mean gestational age was 31.88�2.32 weeks. efficacy was noted in 19 (63.33%) patients of group a and 23 (76.6%) of group b. significant (p = 0.001) difference between the efficacy of both groups was noted. conclusion: this study concluded that oral nifedipine plus progesterone is associated with higher efficacy for tocolysis (stoppage of uterine contractions) of threatened preterm labor as compared to oral nifedipine alone. so,we recommend that oral nifedipine in combination with progesterone should be used as a first line tocolytic agent in tocolysis of threatened preterm labor to achieve benefits from prolongation of pregnancy and significant reduction in perinatal morbidity and mortality. � 2016,lahore medical and dental college. all rights reserved.