Animesh Naskar, Indrani Dasgupta , Rupkamal Das
BACKGROUND Postpartum haemorrhage continues to be leading cause of maternal death worldwide. In low resource set up, where there is non-availability of oxytocin, oral misoprostol effectively reduces the haemorrhage in third stage of labour. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of oral misoprostol 600 mcg with intramuscular oxytocin 10 IU in the active management of third stage of labour. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a prospective study performed at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital to compare the efficacy of oral misoprostol with intramuscular oxytocin in the active management of third stage of labour. In group A, 27(50%) women without risk of PPH were randomly allocated to receive 600 mcg misoprostol orally and in group B also 27(50%) women included by random allocation among total 54 total samples to receive 10 units of oxytocin intramuscularly within 1 minute of delivery. The efficacy and the safety of these two drugs were assessed on the basis of, percentages reduced in haemoglobin (Hb) and haematocrit (Hct) level in pre-delivery and 24 hours post-delivery, requirement of extra uterotonic agents, need for exploration and evacuation of uterus, blood transfusion requirement and duration of third stage of labour. RESULTS It was observed that oral misoprostol was as effective as intramuscular oxytocin in prevention of post-partum haemorrhage (PPH). There was no statistically significant difference in the duration of third stage of labour, requirement of extra uterotonics (misoprostol group 11.1% vs. 7.4% oxytocin group), and blood transfusion requirements in the two study groups. CONCLUSION Oral misoprostol 600 mcg appears to be as effective as intramuscular oxytocin 10 IU in reducing blood loss during the third stage of labour.
