■ Diltiazem for maintenance tocolysis offered nobenefit over nifedipine in women experiencingpreterm labour before 35 weeks’ gestation. This is thefinding of US-based researchers who compared theeffects of diltiazem with those of nifedipine in aprospective study involving 69 such women. Thewomen had been successfully treated with IVmagnesium sulfate and after this drug was tapered offthey were randomised to receive either oral nifedipine20mg every 4–6 hours or oral diltiazem 30–60mgevery 4–6 hours for tocolysis. Mean gestational age atdelivery was 35.5 and 33.4 weeks among thenifedipine and diltiazem groups, respectively. 41.7 and15.1% of women in the respective treatment groupswere delivered at ≥ 37 weeks’ gestation.El-Sayed YY, et al. Diltiazem for maintenance tocolysis of preterm labor:comparison to nifedipine in a randomized trial. Journal of Maternal-FetalMedicine 7: 217-221, Sep-Oct 1998 800714186