Pulmonary complications of isoxsuprine therapy in the gravida.

The potential association of intravenous isoxsuprine therapy for premature labor with pulmonary edema and an adult respiratory distress syndrome is demonstrated by 6 patients, 3 of whom became critically ill. While other tocolytic agents have been associated with pulmonary edema, most commonly when used in combination with glucocorticoids, this is the first report of maternal pulmonary complications from isoxsuprine therapy, both with and without associated glucocorticoid administration. A case of right middle lobe pneumonia that bore a temporal proximity to maternal isoxsuprine and betamethasone therapy is also presented. No explanation of these associations is offered. All these cases occurred in 1977. The utilization of isoxsuprine at the authors' institution has not changed since then, either in frequency or protocol, nor has the drug formulation been changed, yet no comparable complications have been seen since. This phenomenon is not understood.