Oxytocin via Uniject (a prefilled single-use injection) versus oral misoprostol for prevention of postpartum haemorrhage at the community level: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Oxytocin in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Access to injectable uterotonics for management of postpartum haemorrhage remains limited in Senegal outside health facilities, and misoprostol and oxytocin delivered via Uniject have been deemed viable alternatives in community settings.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are teenagers, young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, women only.

Pregnant women in their third trimester were screened for eligibility either during community outreach or at home-based prenatal visits.

Only women delivered by the auxiliary midwives in the maternity huts were eligible for the study.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized and double-blind.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Oxytocin group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Oxytocin.

The researchers did an unmasked cluster-randomised controlled trial at maternity huts in three districts in Senegal.

Women with known allergies to prostaglandins or pregnancy complications were excluded.

The primary outcome was mean change in haemoglobin concentration measured during the third trimester and after delivery.

This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01713153.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Community Health Centers, Hemoglobins, Home Childbirth, Injections, Midwifery, Misoprostol and Oxytocics.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and double-blind study of Oxytocin.

Results are reported in around 10 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2016 (The Lancet. Global health), a journal based in England.

More context: the Oxytocin compound page, all human trials.