Progesterone to Prevent Preterm Delivery

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

Preterm birth (PTB) is a major challenge to perinatal health. It is defined as delivery before 37 completed gestational weeks. It accounts for 75% of perinatal deaths and more than 50% of long-term neurological disabilities, and it is the second most common cause of death in children under the age of 5 year. Neonates born preterm are at risk of respiratory distress syndrome, chronic lung disease, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular haemorrhage and sepsis in the short term, as well as cerebral palsy, motor and sensory impairment, learning difficulties, and increased risk of chronic disease in long run. It is estimated that the societal cost of PTB is $26 billion annually in the USA alone.

Until now, prevention or reduction of PTB is based on identification of risk factors in obstetrical history, biochemical markers and short cervix. History of PTB and asymptomatic short cervix at the second trimester are both strong predictors for PTB. In women with asymptomatic short cervix at the second trimester, vaginal progesterone could effectively reduce PTB. Universal cervical length screening followed by treatment with vaginal progesterone has been shown to be the most cost effective strategy in preventing PTB. These findings were confirmed in meta-analysis.

Nevertheless, only minority of women may benefit from progesterone treatment if it was being started at the second trimester. There is still a large proportion of PTB, which is currently not preventable, and the current approach to prevent PTB is far from ideal.

One possible hypothesis is that the initiation of progesterone treatment would be too late for its effect to take place. Therefore, we decide to use oral progesterone in the current study. The objective of the study is to determine whether early use of progesterone can prevent PTB better when compared with universal screening of cervical length and followed by treatment with progesterone in those with short cervix.

Clinical Trial Description

n/a

Study Design

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

Clinical Trial Details

NCT number	NCT03428685
Study type	Interventional
Source	The University of Hong Kong
Contact
Status	Recruiting
Phase	Phase 2/Phase 3
Start date	January 15, 2019
Completion date	January 2023

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See also
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Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.

Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.