Objective: To identify predictors of adverse outcome in pregnant women at term receiving 50 mug of intravaginal misoprostol for labor induction. Study design: A prospective observational study was conducted of 720 pregnant women at term with an unfavorable cervix and a medical or obstetric indication for labor induction. All patients received 50 mug of intravaginal misoprostol every 4 h up to three doses. The primary outcome measure was "adverse outcome" defined as: neonatal death, fetal acidemia and emergent cesarean delivery performed for non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracings. A stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of adverse outcome. Results: Tachysystole (frequent uterine contractions) (odds ratio (OR), 3.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2-10.8) and fetal tachycardia (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.4-16.2) were determined as significant predictors of adverse outcome. The specificity of the model was 94.2%, whereas the sensitivity was 20.4%. Conclusion: In the absence of tachysystole and fetal tachycardia, an uneventful delivery might be expected for women receiving 50 mug of intravaginal misoprostol. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
C1 SSK Matern & Womens Hlth Teaching Hosp, Ankara, Turkey.