EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF MAGNESIUM SULFATE AND NIFEDIPINE FOR TOCOLYSIS IN PRETERM LABOR - A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Background: Preterm labor is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity & mortality and one of the leading causes of infant mortality. Despite substantial efforts to introduce new therapies for prevention of preterm labor, it continues to contribute signicantly to neonatal and infant mortality. Aim: To compare the efcacy of magnesium sulfate and nifedipine for tocolysis in preterm labor. Methods: This randomized clinical control study was conducted out at the department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, S.N.M.C., Agra from Dec.2020 to Sept.2022. A total of 100 patients of preterm labor,>18 years of age with singleton pregnancy of gestational age between 28-33 weeks 6days were included in the study and selected on the basis of inclusion & exclusion criteria, and randomly divided into two groups (50 each) i.e. Group 1 (magnesium sulfate) & Group 2 (Nifedipine).Outcome variables like cessation of uterine contractions till 48 hours (efcacy) were noted for successful or unsuccessful outcome. Results: The mean gestational age in group1 was 31.66±1.80 weeks and in group2 was 31.72±1.68 weeks (p>0.05).There was cessation of uterine contractions in 44 (88%) and no cessation in 6 (12%) patients in Group 1 while in Group 2, it was seen in 35 (70%) and 15 (30%) patients respectively. So, efcacy was 88% in group 1(MgSO4) and 70% in group 2(oral nifedipine) with p-value of 0.0495. Conclusion: Magnesium sulfate has higher efcacy i.e. 88% for acute tocolysis in preterm labor as compared to oral nifedipine and can be used as rst line drug to treat preterm labor.