Trial of Progesterone in Twins and Triplets to Prevent Preterm Birth (STTARS)

Summary

Women pregnant with twins or triplets are at high risk of preterm birth, yet no intervention or approach has served to reduce this risk. A recently completed trial by the NICHD sponsored Maternal Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network has, for the first time, demonstrated a treatment that substantially reduces the rate of preterm birth in women at high risk for preterm delivery (i.e. progesterone therapy). Preterm birth was reduced by 35% among progesterone-treated women with a singleton pregnancy when compared with women receiving placebo. The current trial compares weekly treatment by injection of progesterone with placebo in women pregnant with twins or triplets.

Timeline

Start

2004-04

Primary completion

2006-08

Completion

2007-09

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper Treatment with 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate did not reduce the rate of preterm birth in women with twin gestations. PMID 17671253 ↗

paper Treatment with 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate did not reduce the rate of preterm birth in women with triplet gestations. PMID 19155896 ↗

Publications

• Background Meis PJ, Klebanoff M, Thom E, Dombrowski MP, Sibai B, Moawad AH, Spong CY, Hauth JC, Miodovnik M, Varner MW, Leveno KJ, Caritis SN, Iams JD, Wapner RJ, Conway D, O'Sullivan MJ, Carpenter M, Mercer B, Ramin SM, Thorp JM, Peaceman AM, Gabbe S; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Prevention of recurrent preterm delivery by 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate. N Engl J Med. 2003 Jun 12;348(24):2379-85. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa035140.
• Background Kogan MD, Alexander GR, Kotelchuck M, MacDorman MF, Buekens P, Papiernik E. A comparison of risk factors for twin preterm birth in the United States between 1981-82 and 1996-97. Matern Child Health J. 2002 Mar;6(1):29-35. doi: 10.1023/a:1014312132443.
• Background Gardner MO, Goldenberg RL, Cliver SP, Tucker JM, Nelson KG, Copper RL. The origin and outcome of preterm twin pregnancies. Obstet Gynecol. 1995 Apr;85(4):553-7. doi: 10.1016/0029-7844(94)00455-M.
• Background Min SJ, Luke B, Gillespie B, Min L, Newman RB, Mauldin JG, Witter FR, Salman FA, O'sullivan MJ. Birth weight references for twins. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2000 May;182(5):1250-7. doi: 10.1067/mob.2000.104923.
• Background Lynch A, McDuffie R, Stephens J, Murphy J, Faber K, Orleans M. The contribution of assisted conception, chorionicity and other risk factors to very low birthweight in a twin cohort. BJOG. 2003 Apr;110(4):405-10.
• Background Goldenberg RL, Iams JD, Miodovnik M, Van Dorsten JP, Thurnau G, Bottoms S, Mercer BM, Meis PJ, Moawad AH, Das A, Caritis SN, McNellis D. The preterm prediction study: risk factors in twin gestations. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1996 Oct;175(4 Pt 1):1047-53. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9378(96)80051-2.
• Results Caritis SN, Rouse DJ, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Momirova V, Spong CY, Iams JD, Wapner RJ, Varner M, Carpenter M, Lo J, Thorp J, Mercer BM, Sorokin Y, Harper M, Ramin S, Anderson G; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network (MFMU). Prevention of preterm birth in triplets using 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Feb;113(2 Pt 1):285-92. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e318193c677.
• Results Rouse DJ, Caritis SN, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Thom EA, Spong CY, Varner M, Malone F, Iams JD, Mercer BM, Thorp J, Sorokin Y, Carpenter M, Lo J, Ramin S, Harper M, Anderson G; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. A trial of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate to prevent prematurity in twins. N Engl J Med. 2007 Aug 2;357(5):454-61. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa070641.
• Results Gyamfi C, Horton AL, Momirova V, Rouse DJ, Caritis SN, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Meis PJ, Spong CY, Dombrowski M, Sibai B, Varner MW, Iams JD, Mercer BM, Carpenter MW, Lo J, Ramin SM, O'Sullivan MJ, Miodovnik M, Conway D; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. The effect of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate on the risk of gestational diabetes in singleton or twin pregnancies. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Oct;201(4):392.e1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2009.06.036. Epub 2009 Aug 29.
• Blumenfeld YJ, Momirova V, Rouse DJ, Caritis SN, Sciscione A, Peaceman AM, Reddy UM, Varner MW, Malone FD, Iams JD, Mercer BM, Thorp JM Jr, Sorokin Y, Carpenter MW, Lo J, Ramin SM, Harper M; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Accuracy of sonographic chorionicity classification in twin gestations. J Ultrasound Med. 2014 Dec;33(12):2187-92. doi: 10.7863/ultra.33.12.2187.
• Caritis SN, Sharma S, Venkataramanan R, Rouse DJ, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Spong CY, Varner MW, Malone FD, Iams JD, Mercer BM, Thorp JM Jr, Sorokin Y, Carpenter M, Lo J, Ramin S, Harper M; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Pharmacokinetics of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in multifetal gestation. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Jul;205(1):40.e1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2011.03.028. Epub 2011 Mar 22.

Drugs

Evaluation	Drug	Modality	Dose	Route
Subject	17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate	Unknown	250 mg	Intramuscular

Indications