Cervical pessary plus vaginal progesterone versus long‐term tocolysis for the prevention of preterm birth: An observational retrospective study

Objective To compare cervical pessaries plus vaginal progesterone versus long‐term tocolysis for preventing preterm birth for women with a short cervix. Methods Retrospective evaluation of women with singleton pregnancy who received cervical pessaries plus vaginal progesterone (combined group) or ritodrine hydrochloride (tocolysis group) for short cervix (≤25 mm at 20–24 weeks, or ≤20 mm at 25–34 weeks) at a general hospital in Kagoshima, Japan, 2015–2019. The primary outcome was rate of preterm birth (<36 weeks); secondary outcomes were maternal hospital admittance and treatment complications. Results Data were evaluated from 95 women (combined group, n=43; tocolysis group, n=52). There was no significant difference in cervical length or gestational age at intervention between the groups. Overall, 3/43 (7.0%) women delivered before 36 weeks in the combined group versus 16/52 (30.8%) in the tocolysis group (relative risk, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.41–0.76; P =0.004). Median maternal admittance was shorter in the combined group (6.6 vs 41.0 days, P <0.001). Although 36/43 (83.7%) women in the combined group reported increased vaginal discharge, no major complications occurred. Conclusion A combination of pessaries and vaginal progesterone reduced the rate of preterm birth (<36 weeks) for women with short cervix as compared with long‐term tocolysis.