Combination Foley Catheter-Oxytocin versus Oxytocin Alone Following Preterm Premature Rupture Of Membranes.

Abstract

The benefit of mechanical ripening agents following preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) has not been established. We sought to compare the time to delivery in women who received transcervical Foley catheter plus oxytocin infusion versus oxytocin infusion alone in patients with unfavorable cervices and preterm rupture of membranes (PPROM). This is a retrospective cohort study of patients presenting with PPROM of a live, singleton gestation between 24 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks gestation from January 2005 to October 2018 at a single, tertiary care institution. Patients with an unfavorable cervical examination (≤2 cm dilation), no contraindication to labor and undergoing labor induction were analyzed. Time to delivery was analyzed using multivariable linear regression adjusting for cervical dilation at induction and nulliparity. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used where appropriate. RESULTS 260 participants were included: 109 who received a Foley catheter and Oxytocin (Foley/oxytocin), and 151 who had oxytocin alone. Demographic characteristics were similar between the two groups. Unadjusted time to delivery was significantly shorter in the oxytocin only group (Foley/oxytocin: 20.35 hours versus oxytocin alone: 14.7 hours, p< 0.001). No differences in length of labor were detected after adjusting for cervical dilation at induction and nulliparity (p=0.5). The unadjusted rate of cesarean delivery was higher in the combination Foley/oxytocin group (Foley/oxytocin: 16.5% versus oxytocin alone: 7.3%, p=0.03) but no differences were found in the adjusted analysis (p=0.06). There were no differences in clinical chorioamnionitis rates between the two groups (Foley/oxytocin: 8.3% versus oxytocin alone: 9.3%, p=0.83). Furthermore, no significant differences were found in maternal and neonatal outcomes between the two groups. In patients with preterm rupture of membranes, the use of a transcervical Foley catheter in addition to oxytocin is not associated with a shorter time to delivery compared to oxytocin alone.