Further study of the inhibition of premature labor by indomethacin Part II double-blind study

Premature delivery is an important obstetrical complication associated with increase perinatal mortality and morbidity. There is good evidence that prostaglandins play an important role in the pathogenesis of premature labor [14]. The nonsteroid anti-inflammatory agent indomethacin, is a potent inhibitor of prostaglandin biosynthesis in the body and it is also an established fact that contractions may be inhibited by indomethacin [20]. In first part of the study we have shown in a very large uncontrolled group of patients the efficacy and safety of the drug in arresting premature labor, the same as others [4, 8, 25, 29]. The purpose of the second part of the study was to test in a controlled double-blind fashion the efficacy of indomethacin in suppressing the premature labor.