Comparison of low-dose oxytocin and dinoprostone for labor induction in postterm pregnancies: a randomized controlled prospective study.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of oxytocin and dinoprostone in achieving successful labor induction and vaginal delivery in postterm women with an unfavorable cervix.

METHODS

Postterm women with an uncomplicated pregnancy and a Bishop score of ≤6 were randomized to receive either dinoprostone vaginal pessary (Propess®) or low-dose oxytocin. The primary outcomes were the length of the induction-to-delivery period and the incidence of vaginal delivery.

RESULTS

A total of 144 women were available for the analysis. The overall vaginal delivery rates were 75% (54/72) for the dinoprostone group and 80.6% (58/72; p = 0.35) for the oxytocin group; the mean induction-to-vaginal delivery interval was 13.3 and 10.3 h in the dinoprostone and the oxytocin group, respectively (p = 0.003). Uterine hyperstimulation was 7.4% compared with 6.8% (p = 0.8), and abnormal fetal heart rate was 26.4% compared with 18% (p = 0.2), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Both oxytocin and dinoprostone seem to have similar obstetric outcomes in postterm pregnancies with an unfavorable cervix, except for a significant superiority of oxytocin for delivery in a shorter period.