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Obstetrics & Gynecology Science Sep 2022The external cephalic version (ECV) has been shown to lower the likelihood of cesarean section requirements among pregnant women with breech presentations. In the...
OBJECTIVE
The external cephalic version (ECV) has been shown to lower the likelihood of cesarean section requirements among pregnant women with breech presentations. In the current study, we investigated the effectiveness and safety of ritodrine as a tocolytic for ECV.
METHODS
A total of 407 pregnant women with breech presentations, who had no contraindications for ECV, were enrolled in this study. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the impact of ritodrine use on the safety and efficacy of ECV.
RESULTS
The overall success rate was 67.6%, and ritodrine use was associated with significantly higher odds of successful ECV after adjusting for confounders. Moreover, using ritodrine did not increase the risk of adverse effects, including temporary changes in fetal heart rate, need for elective or emergency cesarean section due to fetal distress during ECV, low Apgar scores, and perinatal mortality.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that using ritodrine as a tocolytic during ECV may increase the likelihood of ECV success and may not increase adverse perinatal outcomes.
PubMed: 35908652
DOI: 10.5468/ogs.22106 -
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth Jan 2023Ritodrine hydrochloride, a β2-adrenergic agonist, has been widely used in Asia and Europe to treat preterm labor in pregnant women. It has some typical side effects,... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Ritodrine hydrochloride, a β2-adrenergic agonist, has been widely used in Asia and Europe to treat preterm labor in pregnant women. It has some typical side effects, such as palpitations, pulmonary edema, and hypokalemia. Here, we report a case of rhabdomyolysis and psychiatric symptoms might be associated with intravenous ritodrine.
CASE PRESENTATION
A 32-year-old Chinese primigravida woman who was pregnant with twins by in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer was diagnosed with placenta previa and threatened abortion at 21 gestational weeks (GW). The patient was then treated with ritodrine hydrochloride. The initial dose of ritodrine was 150 μg/min, gradually increasing to 360 μg/min at 23 GW and 400 μg/min at 27 GW. Magnesium sulfate was added to the ritodrine regimen at 21 GW in dosage of 1-2 g/h. Psychiatric symptoms appeared at 24, 26, and 27 GW, manifesting as depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies. Severe muscle pain in her limbs and general weakness appeared after six weeks of ritodrine administration, which might have been a sign of rhabdomyolysis resulting from ritodrine administration. After ceasing the administration of ritodrine, the muscle pain and relevant data from laboratory tests on the patient were significantly improved, and her mood was stable. It is worth noting that this is the first time to report psychiatric symptoms may associated with the administration of ritodrine. In addition, we reviewed and analyzed six reported cases of rhabdomyolysis caused by ritodrine.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that we should pay more attention to the risk of rhabdomyolysis and psychiatric symptoms induced by intravenous ritodrine hydrochloride, especially in patients with a history of neuromuscular disorder, or concomitant use of magnesium sulfate.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Pregnancy; Humans; Female; Adult; Ritodrine; Tocolytic Agents; Magnesium Sulfate; Myalgia; Rhabdomyolysis
PubMed: 36611175
DOI: 10.1186/s12884-022-05299-2 -
Obstetrics & Gynecology Science Jan 2018In terms of efficacy, several previous studies have shown that the success rate in inhibiting preterm labor was not different between magnesium sulfate and ritodrine....
OBJECTIVE
In terms of efficacy, several previous studies have shown that the success rate in inhibiting preterm labor was not different between magnesium sulfate and ritodrine. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the efficacy of both medications after consideration of intra-amniotic infection, which is one of the most important prognostic factors in patients of threatened preterm birth. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of magnesium sulfate with that of ritodrine in preterm labor.
METHODS
In this retrospective cohort study, we included patients who were admitted and treated with either ritodrine or magnesium sulfate with the diagnosis of preterm labor at 24-33.6 weeks of gestational age between January 2005 to April 2015. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the first-used tocolytics (ritodrine group and magnesium sulfate group). We compared the efficacy and prevalence of side effect in each group. The efficacy of both tocolytics was evaluated in terms of preterm delivery within 48 hours, 7 days, or 37 weeks of gestation and need for 2nd line therapy.
RESULTS
A total number of 201 patients were enrolled including 177 cases in ritodrine group and 24 cases in magnesium sulfate group. The efficacy of both tocolytics (preterm delivery within 48 hours, 7 days, or 37 weeks of gestation and need for 2nd line therapy) was not different between the 2 groups of cases. In multivariate analysis, gestational age at treatment, twin gestation, intra-amniotic infection and maternal C-reactive protein (CRP) was associated with treatment failure (preterm delivery within 48 hours), but the type of tocolytics was not significantly associated with treatment failure. The type of side effect was different in the 2 groups, but the frequency of total adverse effect, need for discontinuation of therapy because of maternal adverse effect, and severe adverse effect were not different between the two groups of cases.
CONCLUSION
The efficacy and safety of magnesium sulfate was similar to ritodrine, and can be a substitute tocolytics. Additionally, failure of tocolytic therapy was determined by gestational age at treatment, twin gestation, intra-amniotic infection, and maternal CRP, not by the type of tocolytics.
PubMed: 29372151
DOI: 10.5468/ogs.2018.61.1.63 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Feb 2014Preterm birth is a major contributor to perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Tocolytic agents are drugs used to inhibit uterine contractions. Betamimetics are... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Preterm birth is a major contributor to perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Tocolytic agents are drugs used to inhibit uterine contractions. Betamimetics are tocolytic agents that have been widely used, especially in resource-poor countries.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the effects of betamimetics given to women with preterm labour.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (31 December 2013) and reference lists of retrieved studies.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised controlled trials of betamimetics, administered by any route or any dose, in the treatment of women in preterm labour where betamimetics were compared with other betamimetics, placebo or no treatment.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors assessed risk of bias and extracted the data independently.
MAIN RESULTS
Twenty-eight trials were assessed as eligible for inclusion in the review, but eight did not report any outcome data relevant to the review. Results are based on the 20 trials that contributed data.Twelve trials, involving 1367 women, compared betamimetics with placebo. Betamimetics decreased the number of women in preterm labour giving birth within 48 hours (average risk ratio (RR) 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53 to 0.88, 10 trials, 1209 women). There was a decrease in the number of births within seven days (average RR 0.80; 95% CI 0.65 to 0.98, five trials, 911 women) but there was no evidence of a reduction in preterm birth (before 37 weeks' gestation) (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.88 to 1.03, 10 trials, 1212 women). No benefit was demonstrated for betamimetics for perinatal death (RR 0.84; 95% CI 0.46 to 1.55, 11 trials, 1332 infants), or neonatal death (RR 0.90; 95% CI 0.27 to 3.00, six trials, 1174 infants). No significant effect was demonstrated for respiratory distress syndrome (RR 0.87; 95% CI 0.71 to 1.08, eight trials, 1239 infants). A few trials reported on cerebral palsy, infant death and necrotising enterocolitis; no significant differences between groups were identified for any of these outcomes. Betamimetics were significantly associated with the following outcomes: withdrawal from treatment due to adverse effects; maternal chest pain; dyspnoea; palpitation; tremor; headaches; hypokalaemia; hyperglycaemia; nausea or vomiting; nasal stuffiness; and fetal tachycardia.Nine trials compared different types of betamimetics. Other betamimetics were compared with ritodrine in five trials (n = 948). Other comparisons were examined in single trials: hexoprenaline compared with salbutamol (n = 140), slow versus moderate release salbutamol (n = 52) and salbutamol compared with terbutaline (n = 200). Trials were small, varied, and of insufficient quality to delineate any consistent patterns of effect.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Betamimetics help to delay birth, which may give time to allow women to be transferred to tertiary care or to complete a course of antenatal corticosteroids. However, multiple adverse effects must be considered. The data are too few to support the use of any particular betamimetic.
Topics: Adrenergic beta-Agonists; Female; Fenoterol; Hexoprenaline; Humans; Obstetric Labor, Premature; Pregnancy; Premature Birth; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Ritodrine; Terbutaline; Tocolytic Agents
PubMed: 24500892
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004352.pub3 -
Korean Circulation Journal Jul 2009
PubMed: 19949616
DOI: 10.4070/kcj.2009.39.7.295 -
Canadian Medical Association Journal Apr 1976Prematurity is by far the commonest cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The management of premature labour is empirical because little is understood about the... (Review)
Review
Prematurity is by far the commonest cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The management of premature labour is empirical because little is understood about the mechanism of labour. Effective uterine relaxant drugs have an important, albeit minor role. Phototherapy has reduced the complications of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, and the beneficial effect of antepartum corticosteroid therapy in minimizing the risk of respiratory distress syndrome is now convincing. Prophylactic antibiotic therapy in premature rupture of the membranes does not alter perinatal mortality, although postpartum maternal morbidity is reduced. The introduction of neonatal intensive care units has improved the survival rate of premature infants. Sound clinical judgement remains the mainstay in the management of premature labour.
Topics: Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Adrenergic beta-Agonists; Albuterol; Amnion; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Infections; Betamethasone; Diazoxide; Ethanol; Extraembryonic Membranes; Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Isoxsuprine; Jaundice, Neonatal; Obstetric Labor, Premature; Phenobarbital; Phototherapy; Pregnancy; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn; Ritodrine; Rupture, Spontaneous; Time Factors
PubMed: 4217
DOI: No ID Found -
Biomolecules Jun 2023Preterm labor leading to preterm birth is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. At the present time, nothing can reliably halt labor once it begins. The... (Review)
Review
Preterm labor leading to preterm birth is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. At the present time, nothing can reliably halt labor once it begins. The knowledge that agonists of the β2 adrenergic receptor relax airway smooth muscle and are effective in the treatment of asthma led to the notion that β2 mimetics would prevent preterm birth by relaxing uterine smooth muscle. The activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase by β2 receptors is unable to provide meaningful tocolysis. The failure of β2 agonists such as ritodrine and terbutaline to prevent preterm birth suggests that the regulation of uterine smooth muscle is disparate from that of airway. Other smooth muscle quiescent-mediating molecules, such as nitric oxide, relax vascular smooth muscle in a cGMP-protein kinase G-dependent manner; however, nitric oxide activation of protein kinase G fails to explain the relaxation of the myometrium to nitric oxide. Moreover, nitric oxide-mediated relaxation is blunted in preterm labor, and thus, for this reason and because of the fall in maternal blood pressure, nitric oxide cannot be employed as a tocolytic. The β3 adrenergic receptor-mediated relaxation of the human myometrium is claimed to be cAMP-dependent protein kinase-dependent. This is scientifically displeasing given the failure of β2 agonists as tocolytics and suggests a non-canonical signaling role for β3AR in myometrium. The addition of the β3 agonist mirabegron to pregnant human myometrial strips in the tissue bath relaxes oxytocin-induced contractions. Mirabegron stimulates nitric oxide production in myometrial microvascular endothelial cells, and the relaxation of uterine tissue in vitro is partially blocked by the addition of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase blocker Nω-Nitro-L-arginine. Recent data suggest that both endothelial and smooth muscle cells respond to β3 stimulation and contribute to relaxation through disparate signaling pathways. The repurposing of approved medications such as mirabegron (Mybetriq™) tested in human myometrium as uterine tocolytics can advance the prevention of preterm birth.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Myometrium; Tocolytic Agents; Premature Birth; Nitric Oxide; Endothelial Cells; Obstetric Labor, Premature; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; Receptors, Adrenergic
PubMed: 37371585
DOI: 10.3390/biom13061005 -
PloS One 2020Ritodrine is one of the most commonly used tocolytics in preterm labor, acting as a ß2-adrenergic agonist that reduces intracellular calcium levels and prevents...
INTRODUCTION
Ritodrine is one of the most commonly used tocolytics in preterm labor, acting as a ß2-adrenergic agonist that reduces intracellular calcium levels and prevents myometrial activation. Ritodrine infusion can result in serious maternal complications, and pulmonary edema is a particular concern among these. The cause of pulmonary edema following ritodrine treatment is multifactorial; however, the contributing genetic factors remain poorly understood. This study investigates the genetic variants associated with ritodrine-induced pulmonary edema.
METHODS
In this case-control study, 16 patients who developed pulmonary edema during ritodrine infusion [case], and 16 pregnant women who were treated with ritodrine and did not develop pulmonary edema [control] were included. The control pregnant women were selected after matching for plurality and gestational age at the time of tocolytic use. Maternal blood was collected during admission for tocolytic treatment, and whole exome sequencing was performed with the stored blood samples.
RESULTS
Gene-wise variant burden (GVB) analysis resulted in a total of 71 candidate genes by comparing the cumulative effects of multiple coding variants for 19729 protein-coding genes between the patients with pulmonary edema and the matched controls. Subsequent data analysis selected only the statistically significant and deleterious variants compatible with ritodrine-induced pulmonary edema. Two final candidate variants in CPT2 and ADRA1A were confirmed by Sanger sequencing.
CONCLUSIONS
We identified new potential variants in genes that play a role in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) regulation, which supports their putative involvement in the predisposition to ritodrine-induced pulmonary edema in pregnant women.
Topics: Adult; Case-Control Studies; Female; Genetic Variation; Humans; Myometrium; Obstetric Labor, Premature; Pregnancy; Pulmonary Edema; Ritodrine; Tocolytic Agents
PubMed: 33166306
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241215 -
Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics &... Sep 2023To evaluate the safety and efficacy of atosiban and ritodrine in pregnant women who were hospitalized for threatened preterm labor (TPL).
A multicenter, retrospective comparison of pregnancy outcomes between groups of preterm labor nulliparous mothers treated with atosiban vs. ritodrine in singleton and multiple pregnancies.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of atosiban and ritodrine in pregnant women who were hospitalized for threatened preterm labor (TPL).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Diagnosis records of preterm labor and subsequent pregnancy-related records and medical records of newborns were extracted from the Clinical Data Warehouse of the Catholic Medical Center's affiliated hospital. Since 2009, cases of preterm labor diagnosed before 34 weeks of pregnancy for first-time mothers who delivered at any one of three hospitals and who received drug treatment for more than 2 days to delay delivery were included in the dataset. Based on characteristics of Korea's national health insurance system, the drug treatment after diagnosis of preterm labor could be classified into cases using only ritodrine (571 women), cases using only atosiban (244 women), and cases where ritodrine treatment was started and then changed to atosiban (275 women). Demographic factors, obstetric outcomes, neonatal outcomes of the two groups were analyzed.
RESULTS
The duration and maintenance of pregnancy were found to be similar between the two groups, although the initial cervical length was significantly shorter in the atosiban cohort (AC). Only in multifetal pregnancies, the maintenance of pregnancy was significantly longer in the AC. The total duration of pregnancy did not show any significant difference between the two groups regardless of singleton or multiple pregnancy. However, the distribution graph showed non-responders in the ritodrine cohort (RC). Our study showed a difference in neonatal birth weight of singleton between the two groups. The length of hospitalization and the NICU admission rate were also significantly higher in the RC for singleton. Although not significant, the proportion of numbers with an Apgar score less than 7 was higher in the RC. Neonatal death was more common in the RG (8 cases in AC and 18 cases in RC).
CONCLUSIONS
Using atosiban for TPL is more effective than using ritodrine for maintaining pregnancy in the case of a multifetal pregnancy. In singleton pregnancies, neonatal outcomes of the atosiban group were superior to those of the ritodrine group. There seems to be a non-responder group when using ritodrine for TPL. Further studies are needed to determine causes of non-responders of ritodrine and effects of ritodrine on the fetus.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Ritodrine; Mothers; Pregnancy Outcome; Retrospective Studies; Pregnancy, Multiple; Obstetric Labor, Premature
PubMed: 37678995
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjog.2023.07.009