(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research has some experts ruling out bacterial
infection as a primary cause of premature births.
Azithromycin is an antibiotic currently used worldwide to treat infections such
as syphilis, chlamydia and Ureaplasma urealyticum, a bacterial infection
researchers believed to be a root cause of premature labor. Researchers at
Liverpool University tested whether using this drug to treat bacteria before it
is detected would prevent early childbirths, defined as births before 37 weeks
of gestation.
"Infection can occur early in pregnancy and remain undetected, so one way of
reducing incidences of preterm labor may be to administer antibiotics before
patients display any signs of infection," Jim Neilson, professor at Liverpool
University's School of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, was quoted as
saying. "Our study showed, however, that treating infection with azithromycin
had no impact on reducing incidences of preterm labor."
Researchers treated half of 2,000 women with the oral antibiotic and half with a
placebo. No significant difference between the two groups was seen in the
outcome of pregnancies, categorizing the drug as ineffective in preventing
premature births. Dr. Neilson says the results suggest preterm labor may not be
caused by infections.
SOURCE: PLoS Medicine, 2009
