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Labor InductionNCT04596397

Oral Misoprostol for Outpatient Induction of Labor

A study testing Inpatient setting and Outpatient setting in people with Labor Induction, run by Sorlandet Hospital HF at 1 site in Norway.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

An increasing proportion of pregnant women have their labors induced due to changing guidelines. In correlation with this increase, the population of the induced women has changed toward more women with a low-risk pregnancy. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 40 years, women only
Conditions the study is for
Labor Induction
What is being tested?
Inpatient setting and Outpatient setting
Type of treatment
Pill or oral medicine
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
20 participants
Where
1 siteNorway
Study dates
16 Nov 2020to 25 Mar 2021
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 40 years
  • Women only
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Understand and read Norwegian
  • No cognitive barriers. The woman must be able to give informed consent
  • ≥ 37 gestational week, vertex presentation, single pregnancy
  • Normal ultrasound including fetal movements, amniotic fluid, estimated fetal weight +/- 15% (≤ 10 percentile and ≥ 90) and normal doppler peak systolic index in the umbilical cord artery and the cerebri media artery
  • Normal cardiotocography
  • Body Mass Index 18-35
  • No signs of infection or health problems
  • Distance to hospital 45-60 minutes

Who cannot join

  • Premature rupture of membranes
  • Previous cesarean section or operation on uterus
  • Fetal anomaly or chromosome/genetic disorder
  • Pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and diabetes (insulin dependent) or other conditions were changes in fetal heart rate during labor is suspected
  • Not eligible for misoprostol as induction agent due a favorable cervix (Bishop score) and/or previous obstetric history

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Norway1 site
  • Sorlandet Hospital Trust

    Kristiansand, 4604

Other trials in Norway

About this study

Official title: Oral Misoprostol for Outpatient Induction of Labor; a Pilot Randomized-controlled Trial

An increasing proportion of pregnant women have their labors induced due to changing guidelines. In correlation with this increase, the population of the induced women has changed toward more women with a low-risk pregnancy. Traditionally, induction of labor has taken place in an inpatient setting where the women have spent extra days in hospital before delivery.

Oral prostaglandins, such as misoprostol, is one of the most commonly used induction agent and is easy for the pregnant women to administrate. The pharmacological effect is ripening the cervix and compared to the mechanical cervical ripening, with a balloon catheter, the demands on busy maternity services seems reduced. Before contractions start, the risk of adverse effects on mother or fetus is considered low, but the evidence on use of misoprostol in an outpatient setting is sparse.

Read the detailed description

The implementation of induction of labor in outpatient settings is increasing despite insufficient evidence regarding safety and effectiveness. The use of a balloon catheter in an outpatient setting is not associated with adverse outcomes in a low-risk population. There is also evidence that outpatient vs inpatient induction of labor with balloon catheter is equally effective. Examination of vaginal dinoprostone (prostaglandin E2) is found to be efficacious in outpatient settings. However, strong evidence concludes that the oral route of administration of prostaglandin is preferable when inducing labor. The World Health Organization recommend 25ug misoprostol (prostaglandin E1) orally every 2 hour until contractions start for induction of labor.

The women randomized to an inpatient setting will receive the hospital standard follow-up; oral misoprostol 25ug every two hours and a cardiotocography for fetal monitoring every 4-6 hour until start of contractions for two days.

The women randomized to an outpatient setting will receive one oral misoprostol 25ug at the maternity unit. After two hours, provided a normal cardiotocography and no contractions, they can go home. They will continue to take 25ug misoprostol every two hours until start of contractions or increasing pain. Maximum time spent at home will be 48 hours.

A dedicated midwife on call will always be available for questions. The women will receive oral and written information to return to the maternity unit if the water breaks, if they experience increasing pain or bleeding, if they feel insecure or anxious, if there are reduced or no fetal movements, and/or when the contraction starts. When the woman returns, she will stay admitted until delivery.

All women will be given standard of care and fetal surveillance when admitted to the hospital, when the contractions start or if the contractions are still absent after 48 hours. We will also ask eligible women who refrain to participate about their reasons for non-participation.

PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTION We aim to explore that induction of labor using oral misoprostol appears feasible in an outpatient setting and may positively influence the length of the hospital stay and maternal satisfaction.

PRIMARY RESEARCH PLAN This is a pilot study to explore the feasibility of a possible multicenter randomized controlled trail.

Conditions
Labor Induction
Being tested
Inpatient setting, Outpatient setting
Keywords
induction of labor, outpatient setting, misoprostol

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Inpatient settingOther

    These women stay at the hospital.

  • Outpatient settingOther

    These women can leave the hospital.

Study groups in NCT04596397
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Induction of labour with oral misoprostol, inpatient settingActive comparatorThese women receive all treatment in the maternity unit.
Receives: Other: Inpatient setting
Induction of labour with oral misoprostol, outpatient settingExperimentalThese women will be observed 2 hours after they receive one dose of oral misoprostol before the can leave the maternity unit.
Receives: Other: Outpatient setting

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. The feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of outpatient labor induction

    The number of eligible women who is willing to enrol in participating

    Measured: 6 months

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Reported labor experience among the women participating

    The women will fill out a survey before and after birth (including childbirth expectations, experience and satisfaction)

    Measured: From included in the study until postpartum discharge (1-2 weeks)

  2. Maternal length of hospital stay

    Length of hospital stay form start of induction to postpartum discharge

    Measured: From included in the study until postpartum discharge (1-2 weeks)

  3. Use of analgesia

    Use of epidural and fentanyl analgesia during labor

    Measured: From start of the partogram until birth (hours)

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted22 Oct 2020
  2. Study start16 Nov 2020
  3. Primary completion15 Mar 2021
  4. Study completion25 Mar 2021

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
All eligible women will be recruited form a midwife and/or doctor. After the inclusion they will be randomized to either inpatient or outpatient setting.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
20 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04596397
Sponsor's protocol ID
2020/104044
Status last verified
Apr 2021
First submitted
12 Oct 2020
Last updated
19 Apr 2021
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Vogel JP, Osoti AO, Kelly AJ, Livio S, Norman JE, Alfirevic Z. Pharmacological and mechanical interventions for labour induction in outpatient settings. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Sep 13;9(9):CD007701. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007701.pub3.

    PubMed 28901007
  • Alfirevic Z, Aflaifel N, Weeks A. Oral misoprostol for induction of labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Jun 13;2014(6):CD001338. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001338.pub3.

    PubMed 24924489
  • WHO Recommendations for Induction of Labour. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2011. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK131963/

    PubMed 23586118
  • Diederen M, Gommers J, Wilkinson C, Turnbull D, Mol B. Safety of the balloon catheter for cervical ripening in outpatient care: complications during the period from insertion to expulsion of a balloon catheter in the process of labour induction: a systematic review. BJOG. 2018 Aug;125(9):1086-1095. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.15047. Epub 2018 Jan 10.

    PubMed 29211328
  • Wilkinson C, Bryce R, Adelson P, Turnbull D. A randomised controlled trial of outpatient compared with inpatient cervical ripening with prostaglandin E(2) (OPRA study). BJOG. 2015 Jan;122(1):94-104. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.12846. Epub 2014 May 14.

    PubMed 24824157

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Inpatient setting and Outpatient setting in people with Labor Induction, run by Sorlandet Hospital HF at 1 site in Norway.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Apr 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Norway. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

The feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of outpatient labor induction (time frame: 6 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04596397, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 19 Apr 2021.

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