TY - JOUR AU - Jarman, Meghan L.; Bennett, Monica M.; Louis, Judette M.; Clark, Reese H.; Tolia, Veeral N.; Ahmad, Kaashif A. TI - Changing Tocolytic Exposures among Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Admitted Preterm Infants SN - 0735-1631 SN - 1098-8785 PY - 2022 JO - Am J Perinatol JF - American Journal of Perinatology LA - EN VL - 39 IS - 16 SP - 1745 EP - 1749 DA - 2022/02/17 ET - 2022/01/19 KW - NICU KW - tocolytics KW - antenatal steroids KW - medications in pregnancy AB - Objective Since 2010, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology have released three committee opinions to recommend and reaffirm the utility of magnesium sulfate for neuroprotection and later for tocolysis to achieve antenatal steroid course completion in preterm labor. We sought to determine changes in antenatal magnesium sulfate exposure and other tocolytic agents for pregnancies resulting in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)-admitted preterm infants.Study Design Using the Pediatrix Clinical Data Warehouse, we evaluated all inborn infants delivered between 22 and 33 weeks' gestation and admitted to the intensive care units from 2009 to 2018. We classified patients based on antenatal exposure to tocolytic medications: calcium channel blockers (nifedipine and amlodipine), betamimetics (terbutaline, theophylline, and ritodrine), prostaglandin inhibitors (indomethacin), and magnesium sulfate.Results A total of 229,781 patients met inclusion criteria. During the study period, magnesium sulfate exposure increased from 27.6 to 57.7% of births while betamimetic exposure decreased from 10.2 to 5.2%. Increasing magnesium sulfate exposure over time was seen at all gestational ages examined and magnesium exposure was most common between 23 and 31 weeks' gestation. By 2017 to 2018, 70.5% of 24 to 29 weeks' gestation NICU infants received exposure to at least one tocolytic agent while this remained at 53.7% of 32 to 33 weeks' NICU admitted infants. Antenatal steroid exposure increased from 74.8 to 87.4% during the study period.Conclusion For NICU-admitted preterm infants, prenatal exposure patterns to tocolytic agents has shifted since 2009 with prenatal magnesium sulfate exposure increasing significantly. Antenatal steroid exposure has risen concurrently. Exposure to tocolytic agents is the highest among preterm infants born between 24 and 29 weeks' gestation.Key Points PB - Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. DO - 10.1055/a-1745-3262 UR - http://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-1745-3262 ER -