Researchers show drug, catheter combo speeds up labor delivery

Using the drug misoprostol in combination with a Foley balloon catheter to induce labor can lead to a speedier delivery, with women delivering several hours earlier than either method alone, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania. The team’s work was published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Nearly 1 million women who deliver in the U.S. each year undergo labor induction, but the process is still costly and doctors do not agree on 1 common practice. The research team at UPenn touted its study as the largest-ever clinical trial of labor induction methods, enrolling 500 women who needed to undergo labor induction at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The participants were randomly split into 4 different treatment arms to induce labor: misoprostol alone, the Foley balloon catheter alone, the 2 methods combined, or the Foley balloon catheter with a synthetic version of oxytocin. Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News. The post Researchers show drug, catheter combo speeds up labor delivery appeared first on MassDevice.
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Catheters Clinical Trials Drug-Device Combinations Hospital Care Pharmaceuticals Research & Development Women's Health University of Pennsylvania Source Type: news