17P Prevents Preterm Birth  

17 Alpha Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate Prevents Recurrent Preterm Birth.  Meis PJ for the NICHD MFMU Network.  Presented at the 23^rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in San Francisco , Feb 3-8, 2003 .

Objective: This trail was conducted to confirm a benefit for 17 alpha hydroxyprogesterone (17P) therapy in preventing recurrent preterm birth.

Study Design: Women with a documented history of a previous spontaneous preterm birth < 37 weeks EGA were enrolled 19 centers between 16 and 20 weeks gestation and randomly assigned in a double blinded fashion (in a 2 to 1 ratio) to weekly injections of 17P or placebo.  The injections were continued to 36 weeks gestation.

Results: Baseline Characteristics of the treatment group, n = 306, and the placebo group, n = 153, were similar.  Treatment with 17P significantly reduced the risk of preterm birth at <37, <35, and <32 weeks gestation (See Table).

Table: Rates of Preterm Birth

	Placebo	17P	RR	p
N	153	306
<37 wks	55%	36%	0.66	0.0001
<35 wks	31%	21%	0.67	0.0165
<32 wks	20%	11%	0.58	0.0180

Conclusion: Treatment with 17P provided significant and powerful protection against recurrent preterm birth in women at high risk.

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