Efficacy of vaginal Misoprostol versus transcervical Foley’s catheter and vaginal Misoprostol in induction of labor

ABSTRACT

Background: The objective is to compare the efficacy of vaginal Misoprostol versus transcervical Foley’s catheter and vaginal Misoprostol.Methods: A prospective study analyzing the comparative efficacy of intravaginal instillation of Misoprostol in two groups (tablet Misoprostol 50mg alone and combination of intracervical Foley’s catheter and tablet Misoprostol 50mg) carried out in the labour room on 300 subjects (150 subjects in each group), from May 2013 to November 2015.Results: The common gestational age at the time of induction was 36-40 weeks and the most common indication was premature rupture of membrane. In both the groups, most of the cases delivered within 12 hours. present results show that statistically significant number of cases delivered vaginally within 12 hours with the group using Misoprostol plus Foley’s catheter as compared to the group using Misoprostol alone. Cesarean section rate was 12.67% in Misoprostol group and 10.67% in Misoprostol plus Foley’s catheter group. Incidence of failure of induction was similar in both the groups. The incidence of babies with Apgar score less than 8/10 at 5 minutes and incidence of early neonatal death were similar in both the groups.Conclusions: Addition of intracervical Foley’s catheter to vaginal Misoprostol for induction of labor in subjects with unfavorable cervices reduces the Induction-Delivery interval without added side effects or complications to the mother and fetus.