Clinical outcomes and feasibility of implementing outpatient labor induction with misoprostol: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Introduction

In response to the increasing rates of induction of labor (IOL), outpatient IOL has emerged as a potential approach to enhance women's satisfaction while reducing costs and staffing requirements. There is a growing interest in oral misoprostol as an outpatient IOL method, particularly in the Nordic region. This study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes and feasibility of implementing IOL with oral misoprostol as an outpatient procedure.

Material and Methods

This multicenter, prospective cohort study is part of the Labor Induction Inpatient and Outpatient (LINO) project (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04746248). Women with low-risk pregnancies undergoing IOL with oral misoprostol were offered outpatient treatment as an alternative to the standard inpatient approach. The primary outcome was the proportion of births and adverse events occurring before or within 30 min after admission, comparing outpatient and inpatient groups. Secondary outcomes included maternal and neonatal safety and efficacy endpoints.

Results

During the study period, 212 women were included in the study: 123 (58.0%) in the outpatient group and 89 (42.0%) in the inpatient group. No births occurred before admission to the hospital or within the first 30 min after admission. Adverse events were rare, and there were no significant differences in safety outcomes between the groups. The duration from hospital admission to giving birth was significantly shorter among women in the outpatient group as compared to the inpatient group (12.3 h vs. 28.1 h, p = 0.001). In the outpatient group, 76.4% of the women completed the misoprostol treatment as outpatients.

Conclusions

In this study of 212 women undergoing IOL with oral misoprostol, we found similar safety outcomes between women who chose outpatient IOL and those who chose inpatient IOL. The outpatient group had significantly shorter hospital stays before giving birth, and more than three in four women in the outpatient group completed the misoprostol treatment as outpatients. While larger studies are needed to draw definitive conclusions, our study suggests that implementing oral misoprostol in an outpatient IOL protocol may represent a safe and feasible alternative.