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Steve N. Caritis, MD

Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences

How can obstetrical providers possibly answer the pregnant woman who asks ‘is this medication safe for me and my baby’ when there is little information addressing that question.
Steve N. Caritis, MD

Research in Brief

Pregnant women expect that medications prescribed by their care provider are safe and effective; yet, the dose of a medication a pregnant woman is prescribed is the same as that the dose prescribed for a man or non-pregnant woman. Since pregnant women metabolize medication differently than non-pregnant women or men, the pregnant woman may receive too much or too little drug. Our research focuses on obstetrical pharmacology and aims to determine for pregnant women the appropriate dosing of commonly used medications.

The following studies are currently enrolling participants. Please contact Dawn Fischer at 412-641-5194 for more information.

  1. Pravastatin for the Prevention of Preeclampsia in High-Risk Women: A Phase I Pilot study
  2. Pharmacology of Buprenorphine in Opioid-Dependent Women
  3. Optimizing medication Management for Mothers with Depression
  4. Relationship between 17-hydroxyprogesterone concentration and preterm birth
  • Young OM, Shaik IH, Twedt R, Binstock A, Althouse AD, Venkataramanan R, Simhan HN, Wiesenfeld HC, Caritis SN. Pharmacokinetics of cefazolin prophylaxis in obese gravidae at time of cesarean delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015;213(4):541.e1-7..
  • Feghali M, Venkataramanan R, Caritis S. Prevention of preterm delivery with 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate: Pharmacologic considerations. Semin Perinatol. 2014;38(8):516-522.
  • Zhao Y, Alshabi AM, Caritis S, Venkataramanan R. Impact of 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate on cytochrome P450s in primary cultures of human hepatocytes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014;211(4)412.e1-6.
  • Caritis SN, Venkataramanan R, Thom E, Harper M, Klebanoff MA, Sorokin Y, Thorp JM Jr, Varner MW, Wapner RJ, Iams JD, Carpenter MW, Grobman WA, Mercer BM, Sciscione A, Rouse DJ, Ramin S; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network and Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Research Units Network. Relationship between 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate concentration and spontaneous preterm birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014;210(2):128.e1-6.
  • Caritis SN, Hebert MF. A pharmacologic approach to the use of glyburide in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Jun; 121(6):1309-12.
  • Haas DM, Quinney SK, Clay JM, Renbarger JL, Hebert MF, Clark S, Umans JG, Caritis SN; Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Research Units Network. Nifedipine pharmacokinetics are influenced by CYP3A5 genotype when used as a preterm labor tocolytic. Am J Perinatol. 2013;30(4):275-81.
  • Pillai VC, Strom SC, Caritis SN, Venkataramanan R. A sensitive and specific CYP cocktail assay for the simultaneous assessment of human cytochrome P450 activities in primary cultures of human hepatocytes using LC-MS/MS. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2013;74:126-32.
  • Caritis SN, Zhao Y, Bettinger J, Venkataramanan R. Qualitative and quantitative measures of various compounded formulations of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013;208(6):470.e1-5.
  • Sharma S, Ellis EC, Gramignoli R, Dorko K, Tahan V, Hansel M, Mattison DR, Caritis SN, Hines RN, Venkataramanan R, Strom SC. Hepatobiliary disposition of 17-OHPC and taurocholate in fetal human hepatocytes: A comparison with adult human hepatocytes. Drug Metab Dispos. 2013;41(2):296-304.
  • Cuppett C, Zhao, Caritis S, Venkataramanan R for the OPRU Network. Effects of endogenous steroids on 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) metabolism. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013;208(1):86.e1-6.
  • Caritis SN, Simhan HN, Zhao Y, Rouse DJ, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Spong CY, Varner MW, Malone FD, Iams JD, Mercer BM, Thorp JM Jr, Sorokin Y, Carpenter M, Lo J, Ramin SM, Harper M; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Relationship between 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate concentrations and gestational age at delivery in twin gestation. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2012;207(5):396.e1-8.
  • Caritis SN, Sharma S, Venkataramanan R, Rouse DJ, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Spong CY, Varner MW, Malone FD, Iams JD, Mercer BM, Thorp JM Jr, Sorokin Y, Carpenter M, Lo J, Ramin S, Harper M; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Pharmacokinetics of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in multifetal gestation. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011; 205(1):40.e1-8.
  • Beigi RH, Han K, Venkataramanan R, Hankins GD, Clark S, Hebert MF, Easterling T, Zajicek A, Ren Z, Mattison DR, Caritis SN; Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Research Units Network. Pharmacokinetics of oseltamivir among pregnant and nonpregnant women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2011; 204(6 Suppl 1):S84-8.
  • Sharma S, Ellis EC, Dorko K. Zhang S, Mattison DR, Caritis SN, et al. Metabolism of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate, an agent for preventing preterm birth by fetal hepatocytes. Drug Metabolism and Disposition: The Biological Fate of Chemicals. 2010;38(5):723-7.
  • Zhang S, Mada SR, Sharma S, Torch M, Mattison D, Caritis SN, Venkataramanan R for the OPRU Network. Simultaneous quantitation of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and progesterone in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). J Pharm Biomet Anal. 2009;48(4):1174-90.
  • Hebert MF, X Ma, Naraharisetti SB, Krudys KM, Umans JG, Hankins G, Caritis SN, Miodovnik M, Mattison D, Unadkat J, Kelly E, Blough D, Cobelli C, Ahmed MS, Snodgrass WR, Carr D, Easterling T, and Vincini P for the Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Research Units Network. Are we optimizing gestational diabetes treatment with glyburide? The pharmacologic basis for better clinical practice. Clinical Pharmacol & Therapeutics. 2009;85(6):607-14.
  • Caritis SN, Rouse DJ, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Momirova V, Spong CY, Iams JD, Wapner RJ, Varner MW, Carpenter M, Lo J, Thorp J, Mercer BM, Sorokin Y, Harper M, Ramin S, Anderson G, for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Prevention of preterm birth in triplets using 17 alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate: a randomized controlled trial. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2009;113:285-292.
  • Attardi BJ, Zeleznik A, Simhan H, Chiao J P, Mattison DR, Caritis SN; for the Obstetrical-Fetal Pharmacology Research Units (OPRU) Network. Comparison of progesterone and glucocorticoid receptor binding and stimulation of gene expression by progesterone, 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate and related progestins. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007;197:599.e1-599.e7.
  • Rouse DJ, Caritis, SN, Peaceman AM, Sciscione A, Thom ET, et al. A trial of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate to prevent prematurity in twins. N Eng J Med. 2007; 357(5):454-61.

For additional publications, visit Pubmed.

Dawn Fischer, RN Research Coordinator
Donna DeAngelis, RT
Lara Siminerio, PharmD
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

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