Sunday, February 20, 2011

US FDA asks doctors and health care professionals for not using drug terbutaline in treatment of preterm labor beyond 48 to 72 hours

US FDA asks doctors and health care professionals for not using drug terbutaline in treatment of preterm labor beyond 48 to 72 hours.As it may cause heart problems in women which may become life threatening.

In United States of America and all other part of the world the asthma drug terbutaline is used as tocolytic that is to prevent the preterm labor and uterine hyperstimulation , it is used in hospital as a drug to delay preterm delivery.

Now US FDA has asked health care professionals for not using drug terbutaline for prevention preterm labor beyond 48 to 72 hours in injection and through oral dosage form as it may lead to serious cardiac events both in mother and child, the drug poses serious risk to mothers life. US FDA has also asked manufacturers to put a boxed warning and a warning in drug prescribing information (labeling ) about the use of terbutaline for treating preterm labor, and uterine hyperstimulation , and to prevent recurrent preterm labor.
US FDA stated in their press release that , health care professionals should consider the risk and the known benefits before using terbutaline and their warning is about the safety concerns in prolonged use of terbutaline in injectable dosage form beyond 48 to 72 hours and in women for prevention and treatment of preterm labor with oral dosage form terbutaline.

Information about terbutaline.
Terbutaline is a bronchodilator drug, it is a β2-adrenergic receptor agonist which causes relaxation in smooth muscle and dilation of bronchial air way passage. Action of adrenergic drug on beta receptors result in contraction of heart muscles and relaxation of smooth muscles and glycogenlysis (conversion of glycogen in to free glucose.).
Therefore terbutaline may produce following serious adverse effects in pregnant women :
Cardiac arrhythmias cardiopulmonary arrhythmias , hypotension, tachycardia , pulmonary edema, myocardial ischemia. These effect may become life threatening.
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Why terbutaline act as adrenergic agonist.
Terbutaline produces similar effects as adrenaline, if you look at the chemical structure of adrenaline and terbutaline it will be clear from the fact that both molecules are very similar in their constitution and spatial arrangement.

IUPAC Name of Adrenaline is 4-(1-hydroxy-2-(methylamino)ethyl)benzene-1,2-diol


IUPAC Name of terbutaline is 5-[2-(tert-butylamino)-1-hydroxyethyl] benzene-1,3-diol













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Propranolol a beta blocker drug (beta adrenergic receptor antagonist)

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