- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- pregnancy today articles
- pregnancy today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Talking Terbutaline
Preterm Labor Drug Causes Controversy
By Teri Brown
"People have to remember that the FDA is also a political organization; those who think that medical organizations aren't political are fooling themselves," Dr. Elliott says. The FDA warning was issued after two women died. One woman had been off the terbutaline when she died and the other died under very suspicious circumstances. For this, the FDA has issued a warning about terbutaline and the terbutaline pump, despite two publications in the medical literature documenting the safety of the therapy in over 18,000 women.
The lack of quality-controlled trials is also an issue in the case of terbutaline. A controlled trial consists of a certain number of people receiving the medication being studied while the others receive a placebo. Because of the circumstances, most physicians feel it unethical to give a placebo to women undergoing preterm labor. There are many observational reports demonstrating the effectiveness of the drug, but clinicians interpret the data differently, leading to the difference of opinion surrounding the use of terbutaline.
"Using the terbutaline pump is not only very effective because it is bio-available and quickly absorbed into the body, but it allows the patient to go home, which is far better than having her stay at the hospital," Dr. Elliott says.
Want to see more?
Comments
There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to 
|
Post As:
|
||
| Enter your comment below: | ||
| Title | ||
| Comment Text | ||
| CAPTCHA | ||
| Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection. | ||
