The association between decreased amniotic fluid volume and treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents for preterm labor

Abstract

From a cohort of women treated for preterm labor at the Swedish Hospital Medical Center for a 1-year period, 58 patients were identified as receiving one or more tocolytic agents. Twenty-seven of the 58 patients met study criteria for the determination of the effects of tocolytic therapy on amniotic fluid volume both before and during treatment by means of ultrasound examination. Fourteen of 17 patients (82.3%) treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs demonstrated a decrease in amniotic fluid, whereas none of the 10 patients treated with other tocolytic agents experienced a decrease in fluid volume. Decreased amniotic fluid associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment was reversible in seven of eight patients when treatment was discontinued and ultrasound examinations were performed after treatment.