Oxytocin Versus Oral Misoprostol for Induction of Labor in Pregnant Women with Term Prelabor Rupture of Membranes: a Randomized Clinical Trial

This study compares the effectiveness and safety of oxytocin infusion against oral misoprostol for inducing labour in pregnant women with term prelabor membrane rupture. We randomized 173 pregnant women presenting with term prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM) at Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital into Group A (underwent induction of labor (IOL) by 25 & mu;g misoprostol oral tablet every 4 h, for maximum 5 doses) and an identical Group B: (underwent IOL by oxytocin infusion according to the hospital protocol). Our primary outcome was rate of vaginal delivery within 24 h, while the secondary outcomes included the time till active phase, induction to delivery interval, maternal pyrexia, nausea and vomiting, fetal distress, Apgar score, birth weight, and neonatal intensive care unit admission. Both groups showed high rates of vaginal delivery (82.4% & 87.1% for misoprostol group and oxytocin group respectively) with no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.394). However, patients induced by misoprostol took significantly less time to reach active phase with a shorter induction to delivery interval as compared to patients induced with oxytocin. This difference was clear in multiparous women, but not observed in primiparous women when subgroup analysis was done. No significant difference was found as regards other outcomes. Our study showed that both oral misoprostol and oxytocin are effective and safe for IOL in patients with PROM, with shorter induction-delivery interval in patients induced by oral misoprostol, an effect that is clear in multiparous but not primiparous women.