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Am J Perinatol 2018; 35(01): 078-083
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1606119
Original Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

The Oxytocin Product Correlates with Total Oxytocin Received during Labor: A Research Methods Study

Chad A. Grotegut
1   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
,
Lauren L. Lewis
1   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
,
Tracy A. Manuck
2   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
,
Terrence K. Allen
3   Division of Women's Anesthesia, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
,
Andra H. James
1   Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
,
Aurelien Seco
4   Obstetrical, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) UMR 1153, Centre for Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité DHU Risks in Pregnancy, Paris Descartes Université, Paris, France
,
Catherine Deneux-Tharaux
4   Obstetrical, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) UMR 1153, Centre for Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité DHU Risks in Pregnancy, Paris Descartes Université, Paris, France
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

06 March 2017

16 July 2017

Publication Date:
14 August 2017 (online)

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Abstract

Objective Total dose of oxytocin received during labor is an important variable in studies of human labor but is difficult to calculate. We sought to identify a surrogate measure for total dose of oxytocin received.

Study Design For each subject receiving oxytocin during labor, the oxytocin total dose received in labor was calculated as the area under the curve. Maximal oxytocin infusion rate, total duration of oxytocin infusion, and the product of both, defined as the oxytocin product, were then each correlated with the total dose of oxytocin received using the Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Results Oxytocin dosing data were available from 402 women at Duke and 6,907 women from Pithagore6. The two variables alone, or combined as the oxytocin product, demonstrated a high correlation with the oxytocin total dose (r > 0.7), with the oxytocin product demonstrating the highest (r > 0.9). This was true whether labor was induced or augmented and whether delivery was vaginal or cesarean.

Conclusion The oxytocin product, composed of two easily obtained variables, demonstrated a very high correlation with total oxytocin dose received in labor and represents a simple and accurate surrogate for total dose of oxytocin received during labor. The oxytocin product can be used in clinical studies in which oxytocin dose is an important variable.

Keywords

area under the curve - augmentation of labor - labor - labor induction - oxytocin - pregnancy

Note

This work was presented in part at the 35th Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, San Diego, CA, February 2015.


Funding

This work was supported by NIH grant K08-HD070872 to CAG. The Pithagore6 project was funded by the French Ministry of Health under its Clinical Research Hospital Program (contract number 27–35) and the Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Maladie (CNAMTS).