Cervical ripening: intravaginal misoprostol in compare to intracervical Foley single balloon catheter, a randomized clinical trial

Background and Aim : The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of vaginal misoprostol withFoley balloon catheter for induction of labor in women with singleton pregnancies and an unfavorablecervix.Methods : Eighty pregnant women with unfavorable cervix were randomly divided in two groups of Foleycatheter or misoprostol modes. Induction of labor in Foley catheter group was done with transcervical Foleycatheter, silicone, size 18F and in misoprostol geoup with vaginal misoprostol at 25 μg every 4 hours.Bishop score, Apgar score, time of active phase, time of transition phase and time from insertion to birthwere the main outcomesResults : The mean of time from induction to the active phase of labor in vaginal misoprostol group wassignificantly shorter than in Foley catheter group (2.32 versus 5.11 hour respectively, P-value = 0.0001).After intervention Bishop score in vaginal misoprostol group was significantly more than Foley cathetergroup (8.70 versus 6.68 respectively, P-value = 0.0001). Time from insertion to birth in vaginal misoprostolgroup was 9.54 hours and in Foley catheter group was 12.88 hours (P-value = 0.0001). The hospitalizationtime in Foley catheter group was significantly more than vaginal misoprostol group (P-value = 0.0001).other outcomes were similar between groupsConclusion : By the decreasing in the total time from insertion to birth, vaginal misoprostol was moreeffective than Foley catheter as a cervical ripening method.

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Key words: Cervical ripening , Foley balloon catheter , vaginal misoprostol