Induction versus expectant management in premature rupture of the membranes with mature amniotic fluid at 32 to 36 weeks: a randomized trial.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at the intervention named in the title.

Their objective was to compare maternal and perinatal outcomes between two management schemes for women with preterm premature rupture of the membranes and documented fetal pulmonary maturity.

Who Took Part

The study group was 164 women.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, women only.

Of 164 women with preterm premature rupture of the membranes at 32 weeks to 36 weeks 6 days' gestation, 93 eligible and consenting women were randomly selected for either induction of labor (n = 46) or expectant management (n = 47).

Expectant management included hospitalization, assessment for fetal heart rate abnormalities, chorioamnionitis, and labor.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

Because people in this study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Digital cervical examinations were prohibited until progressive labor occurred.

Follow-up was also done for the 71 women who did not participate.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Chorioamnionitis, Fetal Death, Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes, Fetal Monitoring, Fetal Organ Maturity, Incidence and Labor, Induced.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study in 164 women.

Its findings take up roughly 6 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 1993 (American journal of obstetrics and gynecology), a journal based in United States.

More context: all human trials.