Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2021
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2021
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
Clinical Trial

Prostaglandin E2 gel for cervical ripening and labour induction: a multicentre placebo-controlled trial

P. Bernstein
CMAJ November 15, 1991 145 (10) 1249-1254;
P. Bernstein
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Responses
  • Metrics
Loading

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of a single intracervical dose of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) gel on cervical ripening and the need for subsequent labour induction with oxytocin. DESIGN: Multicentre randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. SETTING: Tertiary care hospitals. PATIENTS: A total of 397 women met the inclusion criteria: gestational age of at least 36 weeks, parity of 3 or less, a Bishop score of 4 or less, intact membranes, an indication for induction, no contraindication to vaginal delivery, no history of cesarean section or major uterine surgery, no hypersensitivity to prostaglandins, no previous attempt at cervical ripening or induction, no vaginal bleeding and no fetal abnormalities. INTERVENTION: The experimental group (203 women) received a low dose (0.5 mg) of PGE2 in 2.5 mL of gel and the control group (194) 2.5 mL of a placebo gel intracervically. The observation period was 12 hours before further induction (with oxytocin) was attempted. OUTCOME MEASURES: Ripening effect of gel, need for induction with oxytocin, rate of labour induction, time from gel administration to delivery. RESULTS: Seventeen women could not be evaluated because induction was not attempted after the first 12 hours (in nine cases) or the induction attempt was delayed for 24 hours (in six); in the other two cases the gel was in place for only 2 1/2 and 4 hours respectively before cesarean section was required. The Bishop score 12 hours after the gel administration and the difference in the score from the time of admission to the end of the 12-hour observation period were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (p less than 0.001). In all, 91 (46%) of the 196 patients in the experimental group went into labour within the 12-hour observation period, as compared with 21 (11%) of the 184 in the control group (p less than 0.001). When the women who required further induction were included the rate of successful induction was 85% (166 women) and 72% (132) respectively (p less than 0.004). The mean interval from the time of gel administration to delivery was smaller in the experimental group than in the control group (19.8 v. 24.1 hours respectively) (p less than 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A single, low dose of PGE2 gel administered intracervically is a safe and reliable method of dealing with indicated but potentially difficult inductions.

  • Copyright © 1991 by Canadian Medical Association
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

CMAJ
Vol. 145, Issue 10
15 Nov 1991
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author

Article tools

Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Prostaglandin E2 gel for cervical ripening and labour induction: a multicentre placebo-controlled trial
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Prostaglandin E2 gel for cervical ripening and labour induction: a multicentre placebo-controlled trial
P. Bernstein
CMAJ Nov 1991, 145 (10) 1249-1254;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
Prostaglandin E2 gel for cervical ripening and labour induction: a multicentre placebo-controlled trial
P. Bernstein
CMAJ Nov 1991, 145 (10) 1249-1254;
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Responses
  • Metrics

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Use of labour induction and risk of cesarean delivery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Efficacy and safety of finasteride therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia: results of a 2-year randomized controlled trial (the PROSPECT study). PROscar Safety Plus Efficacy Canadian Two year Study
  • Canadian atrial fibrillation anticoagulation study: were the patients subsequently treated with warfarin? Canadian Atrial Fibrillation Anticoagulation Study Group
  • Factors determining compliance with screening mammography
Show more Clinical Trial

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions

Copyright 2021, Joule Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of the resources on this site in an accessible format, please contact us at cmajgroup@cmaj.ca.

Powered by HighWire