Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017 Jun;129(6):1046-1053.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002032.

Intracervical Foley Catheter With and Without Oxytocin for Labor Induction: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Intracervical Foley Catheter With and Without Oxytocin for Labor Induction: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Corina N Schoen et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether adding oxytocin to preinduction cervical ripening with a Foley catheter increases the rate of delivery within 24 hours.

Methods: This was a randomized, multicenter, parallel trial of women with a singleton pregnancy at 24 weeks of gestation or greater undergoing labor induction. Women were randomly allocated to an intracervical Foley catheter followed by oxytocin or Foley with concurrent oxytocin infusion. Nulliparous and multiparous women were randomized and analyzed separately based on parallel design. The primary outcome was Foley placement to delivery at 24 hours or less. A sample size of 100 nulliparous women and 75 multiparous women per group would be required to detect a 20% increase in baseline 24-hour delivery rate with 80% power for each parity group.

Results: From January 2015 through July 2016, 323 patients were enrolled: 184 nulliparous women and 139 multiparous women. Nulliparous women who received concurrent Foley and oxytocin delivered more frequently within 24 hours of Foley placement than did the Foley followed by oxytocin group (64% compared with 43%, P=.003, relative risk 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-2.00). Multiparous women who received concurrent Foley and oxytocin delivered more frequently within 24 hours than the Foley followed by oxytocin group (87% compared with 72%, relative risk 1.22, 95% CI 1.02-1.45). Median time to delivery was shorter in both nulliparous women (20.9 compared with 26.1 hours, P<.001) and in multiparous women, (14.9 compared with 18.6 hours, P=.01) who received concurrent Foley and oxytocin compared with Foley followed by oxytocin. There were no significant differences in the rates of cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, chorioamnionitis, or neonatal intensive care unit admission between the randomization groups.

Conclusion: Induction with concurrent oxytocin infusion added to Foley significantly increases the rate of delivery within 24 hours in both nulliparous and multiparous compared with Foley followed by oxytocin.

Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov/, NCT02273115.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJ, Curtin SC, Matthews TJ. Births: final data for 2013. Natl Vital Stat Rep 2015;64:1–65.
    1. Rouse DJ, Weiner SJ, Bloom SL, Varner MW, Spong CY, Ramin SM, et al. Failed labor induction: toward an objective diagnosis. Obstet Gynecol 2011;117:267–72.
    1. Simon CE, Grobman WA. When has an induction failed? Obstet Gynecol 2005;105:705–9.
    1. Sciscione AC, Bedder CL, Hoffman MK, Ruhstaller K, Shlossman PA. The timing of adverse events with Foley catheter preinduction cervical ripening; implications for outpatient use. Am J Perinatol 2014;31:781–6.
    1. Alfirevic Z, Keeney E, Dowswell T, Welton NJ, Medley N, Dias S, et al. Methods to induce labour: a systematic review, network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. BJOG 2016;123:1462–70.

Publication types

Associated data