Indomethacin PK and PD Therapy in Pregnancy

Overview

This study will follow pregnant women who are taking indomethacin as Standard of Care (SOC) for the indications of preterm labor (PTL), short cervix, or other indications, to evaluate the pharmacokinetics (PK), what the body does to the drug, and pharmacodynamics (PD), effectiveness of the drug in treating the specific intended disease process of this medication. This will help us develop more information for medication dosing specific to pregnant women experiencing preterm labor. Indomethacin is often prescribed to pregnant women presenting with preterm labor or shortened cervix, which places them at risk for preterm labor and delivery. Indomethacin has been used since the 1970s to prolong pregnancy by decreasing uterine contractions. However, despite the widespread use of indomethacin in pregnancy, there is limited information available to help physicians determine how much indomethacin to prescribe and how often to prescribe it.

Opportunistic study of indomethacin prescribed to patients per standard of care. Determine the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics of Indomethacin in pregnant patients with the hypothesis that that estradiol levels during pregnancy (12-32 weeks of gestation) and CYP2C9 polymorphisms affect the PK of indomethacin, and subsequently, the response to indomethacin therapy in patients at risk of Preterm birth (PTB). This hypothesis will be tested with the following specific aims: (1) Determine the PK of indomethacin in pregnant women at risk of PTB and its PD effects on reducing the rate of PTB before 34 weeks of gestation, as well as any associations between the PK and secondary maternal/neonatal clinical outcomes; (2) Determine the effects of maternal levels of estradiol in mid-pregnancy and CYP2C9 polymorphisms on indomethacin biotransformation to O-desmethylindomethacin in pregnant patients; (3) Construct a population PK/PD model of indomethacin in patients at risk of PTB (12-32 weeks of gestation) in order to optimize the dose and the dosing frequency for indomethacin prescribed to each individual based on covariates such as race/ethnicity, CYP2C9 genotype, gestational age, estradiol levels, smoking status, and body mass index (BMI). The investigators will enroll 300 subjects with spontaneous preterm labor (sPTL) or shortened cervix in a prospective opportunistic PK study designed to correlate the PK of indomethacin, patient genotype, and clinical outcomes. The investigators will merge dosing, sampling, demographic, and clinical information with the drug concentration data and use population PK methodologies to analyze the data using nonlinear mixed effect modeling. Quantification of the differences within and between individuals allows for identification of covariates (e.g., CYP2C9 genotype, estradiol levels, BMI, etc.) that can explain variability and affect drug exposure. These covariates, if significant, can then be used in the future to optimize dosing in individual patients at risk for PTB. Achieving this goal of individualized indomethacin therapy could have a significant impact on clinical practice and improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.