الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Preterm labour is defined as onset of labour before completed 37 weeks of pregnancy and being a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Many different classes of drugs have been used for tocolytic therapy of preterm labour. These include beta mimetics such as ritodrine and terbutaline; magnesium sulfate; prostaglandin inhibitors (for example, indomethacin, ketorolac); calcium channel blockers such as nifedipine; nitrates (for example, nitroglycerine); oxytocin receptor blockers (for example, atosiban), and others. Nifedipine has been shown to be more effective for tocolysis when compared to betamimetics. It is the main tocolytic yet described which has been reported to reduce neonatal morbidity. However, the use of transdermal nitroglycerin for the management of preterm labor has been and continues being the subject of debate and controversy. The objective of our study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transdermal nitroglycerin as a tocolytic agent in patients with preterm labor in comparison to oral Nifedipine. Two groups of preterm labour cases included in the study; group I preterm labour managed by nitroglycerine (NG) patches (40 patients ) and group II managed by nifedipine (nif) (40 patients). In the current study, there was no significant difference between transdermal nitroglycerin and nifedipine in delaying delivery for 48 hours of treatment, and in delaying delivery for 7 day or more. I.e. there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in the period of gestation at delivery. As regards maternal complications in the current study, major common side effect of NG Patch is headache which can be easily controlled, 26/40 patients, in relation to nifedipine 9/40 patients. On the other hand, flushing was noticed in the nifedipine group 10/40, while it was not observed in nitroglycerine group. Concerning postulated neonatal complications; Apgar score < 7 at 5 min, resuscitation required, RDS, mechanical ventilation, and neonatal death, there were no statistical significance between the groups.