A survey of tocolytic drug treatment in preterm labour.

In a questionnaire survey among 1004 qualified and trainee obstetricians in The Netherlands and northern Belgium (Flanders) to which 521 (52%) replied, only one claimed never to use tocolytic drugs in preterm labour. At 32 weeks gestation drug treatment would be used by 88% if the cervix was 4 cm and by 97% if it was 2 cm dilated. At 4 cm dilatation Dutch obstetricians refrained from treatment significantly more often than Belgian obstetricians, but there was no such difference at 2 cm dilatation, nor was there a difference between university and other hospitals or between trainee and specialist obstetricians. Belgian respondents relied more heavily on prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors than Dutch respondents, but most used betamimetic drugs, virtually always (98%) by intravenous infusion. No one used ethanol or sedatives. Ritodrine (62%) and fenoterol (31%) were the main choices. Orciprenaline was used only in The Netherlands (4%), isoxsuprine only by non-academic obstetricians in both countries (3%) and no one claimed to use salbutamol, isoprenaline or terbutaline.