Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17206962›Full record

ReviewBJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology2006

The preterm parturition syndrome.

R Romero, J Espinoza, J P Kusanovic, F Gotsch, S Hassan, O Erez, T Chaiworapongsa, M Mazor

Erratum issued 2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 583 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
583citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
25.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02738892 active not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2015, after this paper: background citation

Preventing Preterm Birth in Zambia

TypeobservationalSponsorUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel HillRan2015 to 2026Enrolled9,000ConditionsPregnancy, Stillbirth, Preterm Birth
NCT05044143 completednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Serial Cervical Length Measurements After the 1st Episode of Threatened Preterm Labor to Improve Prediction of Spontaneous Preterm Delivery: Prospective Cohort Study

TypeobservationalSponsorUniversity of Modena and Reggio EmiliaRan2021 to 2024Enrolled303ConditionsPreterm Labor With Preterm DeliveryArmsMonitoring the length of the uterine cervix using transvaginal ultrasound
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

583 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,421 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Short cervix and use of cervical pessary for preventing preterm birth in singleton and twin pregnancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2025
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  9. Adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes associated withSexually transmitted infections · 2022
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  17. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
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523 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

  • Erratum issued
5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

R RomeroPerinatology Research Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH/DHHS, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. awarfiel@med.wayne.edu
J Espinoza
J P Kusanovic
F Gotsch
S Hassan
O Erez
T Chaiworapongsa
M Mazor
United States Department of Health and Human Services · USEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · USSoroka Medical Center · ILWayne State University · US

Funding

The Role Of Subclinical Infection And Cytokines In Preterm ParturitionZIAHD002400 · NICHD · EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT · PI ROMERO, ROBERTO · 2009 to 2025
$254.4M
THE ROLE OF SUBCLINICAL INFECTION AND CYTOKINES IN PRETERM PARTURITIONZ01HD002400 · NICHD · EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT · PI ROMERO, ROBERTO · 1992 to 2008
$8.2M
Intramural NIH HHS Z01 HD002400
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The implicit paradigm that has governed the study and clinical management of preterm labour is that term and preterm parturition are the same processes, except for the gestational age at which they occur. Indeed, both share a common pathway composed of uterine contractility, cervical dilatation and activation of the membranes/decidua. This review explores the concept that while term labour results from physiological activation of the components of the common pathway, preterm labour arises from pathological signalling and activation of one or more components of the common pathway of parturition. The term "great obstetrical syndromes" has been coined to reframe the concept of obstetrical disease. Such syndromes are characterised by: (1) multiple aetiology; (2) long preclinical stage; (3) frequent fetal involvement; (4) clinical manifestations that are often adaptive in nature; and (5) gene-environment interactions that may predispose to the syndromes. This article reviews the evidence indicating that the pathological processes implicated in the preterm parturition syndrome include: (1) intrauterine infection/inflammation; (2) uterine ischaemia; (3) uterine overdistension; (4) abnormal allograft reaction; (5) allergy; (6) cervical insufficiency; and (7) hormonal disorders (progesterone related and corticotrophin-releasing factor related). The implications of this conceptual framework for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of preterm labour are discussed.

Indexed as

Obstetric Labor, PrematureCytokinesEndocrine System DiseasesFemaleFetal DiseasesHumansHypersensitivityInflammationIschemiaParturitionPlacentaPregnancyPregnancy Complications, InfectiousPrenatal CarePrenatal DiagnosisStress, PsychologicalCytokinesToll-Like Receptors

Identifiers

PMID17206962
PMCPMC7062298
OpenAlexW2051868855

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.