Implementation of an oxytocin bolus protocol for cesarean delivery at a Texas level IV maternal center: a single-center retrospective study.

Abstract

Objective: We hypothesized that patients who underwent cesarean delivery and received oxytocin boluses followed by an infusion would have a lower incidence of secondary uterotonic administration compared to patients who had an oxytocin infusion without boluses.

Methods: Patients who had cesarean deliveries at our hospital from September 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 and from September 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022, corresponding to the oxytocin bolus and oxytocin infusion cohorts, respectively, were included. Patient demographic, physical, and clinical characteristic data were collected by a study investigator. Intramyometrial oxytocin, intramuscular methylergonovine, intramuscular carboprost tromethamine, and sublingual misoprostol were defined as secondary uterotonics.

Results: There were 266 and 283 patients in the oxytocin bolus and oxytocin infusion cohorts, respectively. The odds ratio for patients in the oxytocin bolus cohort receiving a secondary uterotonic was 0.25 (95% confidence interval 0.16, 0.41; P < 0.01).

Conclusion: Patients in the oxytocin bolus cohort were approximately 75% less likely to receive a secondary uterotonic agent compared to patients in the oxytocin infusion cohort. A limitation of this study was that we defined intramyometrial administration of oxytocin as a secondary uterotonic, and our results may not be generalizable to hospitals that do not use intramyometrial oxytocin.