Objective: To compare conservative versus prostaglandin management of prelabour rupture of the membranes (PROM) in healthy primigravid women at term.
Design: A prospective randomized study.
Setting: Labour Ward, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
Subjects: 230 primigravidae at terms with PROM, 115 allocated to be treated conservatively and 115 to be managed with prostaglandin treatment.
Interventions: In the conservatively managed group the women were observed for up to 24 h after hospital admission with PROM. The actively managed group had PGE2 gel (2 mg) instilled into the posterior fornix and if contractions had not commenced, a further dose of PGE2 gel (1 mg) was instilled 6 h later. In both groups, if labour had not established 24 h after admission, intravenous oxytocin was given in escalating doses.
Main outcome measures: PROM to delivery interval, oxytocin augmentation, mode of delivery, maternal and neonatal infective morbidity.
Results: There was a significant reduction in the PROM to delivery interval in the women managed actively with PGE2 gel and fewer women in the PGE2 group required oxytocin augmentation (31% vs 51%). The two managements groups were comparable for intrapartum analgesia, antibiotic treatment, babies requiring admission to the special care nursery unit and delivery by caesarean section.
Conclusion: The early use of prostaglandin is associated with a significant reduction in PROM to delivery interval without a significant increase in infective morbidity or caesarean section rate. However, the advantages of the conservative approach should not be overlooked. More work is still needed in the management of those women where uterine activity fails to establish within 24 h after PROM.