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CompletedNCT03140488OPSUpdated Dec 20, 2022Results posted

Oxytocin Dosage to Decrease Induction Duration

A Phase 4 interventional study of Oxytocin in Obesity, Labor, Induced and Oxytocin, sponsored by University of Arizona. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-12-20.

Sponsored by University of Arizona · Phase 4, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
140
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

This is a randomized controlled trial in which women are allocated either 'high dose' or 'low dose' oxytocin infusions for induction of labour. The randomization is stratified by maternal body mass index.

Read the detailed description

Obesity is considered a major public health concerns and increases the risk of many comorbid medical conditions. Obesity in pregnancy places women at higher risk of obstetrical complications during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum. In particular, obese pregnant women have more difficulty going into labor, a longer labor course, and even with pharmacologic treatment, have a higher chance of requiring cesarean delivery.

When pregnant women need help going into labor, they commonly receive a medication called Pitocin on the labor and delivery floor. Pitocin is the brand name and is a synthetic analog to the naturally produced oxytocin, a hormone secreted by mother when they naturally go into labor. This medication has been used widely around the world. There is emerging evidence that obese women need more oxytocin to go into labor compared to their lean cohorts. There are many studies to support the use of different oxytocin dosage protocols (both high and low dose infusion increments). Despite these evidences, a low dose oxytocin regimen is universally used in the United States, regardless of patient characteristics.

This study is a double blinded randomized controlled trial. Both lean and obese cohorts will be recruited for the study. The investigators will randomly place both cohorts into the low or the high dose oxytocin regimen treatment group. The investigators, patients and providers will be blinded and will not know the specific assignments. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of high dose oxytocin in the obese cohort. The hypothesis is that obese patient will have shorter time to delivery with the high dose oxytocin regimen without incurring any additional risks or adverse outcomes.

02

Conditions studied

  • Obesity
  • Labor, Induced
  • Oxytocin

Keywords

  • Induction of labor
  • Pitocin
  • BMI
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University of Arizona is the lead sponsor of 466 studies on the registry; 87 are open to participants now.

Of its 47 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 29 (62%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Singleton pregnancy ≥ 37 weeks gestation
  • Patient presented for induction of labor who is determined to be a candidate for oxytocin
  • Cephalic presentation
  • Reassuring fetal health assessment (no abnormal findings in fetal assessment, see below)
  • Meeting one of the following BMI category:

Obese group: BMI ≥30 at \<20 weeks of pregnancy, or BMI ≥35 at a term gestation of pregnancy Lean group: BMI ≤25 at \<20 weeks of pregnancy, or BMI ≤28 at a term gestation of pregnancy

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-reassuring fetal assessment at the time of recruitment
  • Previous cervical ripening agents (cytotec, cervidil, cervical Foley Balloon)
  • \<18 years of age
  • Prisoners
  • Any patients contraindicated for vaginal delivery
  • Multiple gestations
  • History of previous cesarean delivery
  • Patients with history of significant cardiac disease
  • Fetal demise
  • Estimated fetal weight greater than 4500 grams in diabetic and 5000 grams in non-diabetic mother
  • Ruptured membranes
  • Spontaneous labor (latent or active phase)
  • Augmentation of labor (latent or active phase)
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
140 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Lean-Control

    1) Control group: Lean cohort: BMI ≤25, at \<20 weeks gestation or BMI ≤28 at a term gestation, low dose oxytocin protocol Low dose oxytocin regimen (the standard at Banner University Labor and Delivery, as well as across the United States): 30 units in 500cc 0.9% normal saline bag (60 milliunit/cc). Starting rate would be 2 milliunit/minute, or 2cc/hour. The medication will be increased by 2 milliunit/minute = 2cc/hr every 30 minutes until adequacy of contraction or cervical change. At 20 milliunit/minute = 20cc/hr, provider will assess patient for eligibility to continue to increase oxytocin dosage.

    Drug: Oxytocin

  • Experimental
    Lean-Intervention

    2) Intervention group: Lean cohort: BMI ≤25, at \<20 weeks gestation or BMI ≤28 at a term gestation, high dose oxytocin protocol High dose oxytocin regimen (endorsed by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists): 90 units in 500cc 0.9% normal saline bag (180 milliunit/cc). Starting rate would be 6 milliunit/minute, or 2cc/hour. The medication will be increased by 6 milliunit/minute = 2cc/hr every 30 minutes until adequacy of contraction or cervical change. At 60 milliunit/minute = 20cc/hr, provider will assess patient for eligibility to continue to increase oxytocin dosage.

    Drug: Oxytocin

  • Active comparator
    Obese-Control

    3) Control group: Obese cohort: BMI ≥30, at \<20 weeks gestation or BMI ≥35 at a term gestation, low dose oxytocin protocol Low dose oxytocin regimen (the standard at Banner University Labor and Delivery, as well as across the United States): 30 units in 500cc 0.9% normal saline bag (60 milliunit/cc). Starting rate would be 2 milliunit/minute, or 2cc/hour. The medication will be increased by 2 milliunit/minute = 2cc/hr every 30 minutes until adequacy of contraction or cervical change. At 20 milliunit/minute = 20cc/hr, provider will assess patient for eligibility to continue to increase oxytocin dosage.

    Drug: Oxytocin

  • Experimental
    Obese-Intervention

    4) Intervention group: Obese cohort: BMI ≥30, at \<20 weeks gestation or BMI ≥35 at a term gestation, high dose oxytocin protocol High dose oxytocin regimen (endorsed by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists): 90 units in 500cc 0.9% normal saline bag (180 milliunit/cc). Starting rate would be 6 milliunit/minute, or 2cc/hour. The medication will be increased by 6 milliunit/minute = 2cc/hr every 30 minutes until adequacy of contraction or cervical change. At 60 milliunit/minute = 20cc/hr, provider will assess patient for eligibility to continue to increase oxytocin dosage.

    Drug: Oxytocin

Interventions

  • DrugOxytocin

    Patients will be randomized to low dose or high dose oxytocin for induction of labor.

    Also known as: Pitocin, Syntocinon

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Length of Time to Delivery

    Number of minutes from induction of labor with oxytocin infusion to delivery of infant, no maximum amount of time specified.

    Time frame: Start of induction to Delivery

Secondary outcomes

  1. Maximum Oxytocin Infusion Rate

    rate measured in milliunits/minute during induction of labour, no time limit applied.

    Time frame: Start of induction to Delivery

  2. Number of Participants With Terbutaline Use

    If terbutaline was injected during labor to decrease number or strength of contraction

    Time frame: Start of induction to Delivery

  3. Rate of Cesarean Delivery

    total number of patients who undergo cesarean delivery

    Time frame: Start of induction to Delivery

  4. Rate of Cesarean Delivery for Labor Arrest

    Number of patients who undergo cesarean delivery due to labor arrest/ failed induction

    Time frame: Start of induction to Delivery

  5. Maternal Blood Loss

    Blood loss in milliliters

    Time frame: At delivery

  6. Number of Neonates With Apgar Score <7

    5 minute Apgar Score \<7 \*Apgar is an acronym for which each criterion is given a minimum of 0 and maximum of 2 points: Appearance (skin color), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity (muscle tone), Respiration

    Time frame: 5 minutes after birth

07

Results

Posted Dec 20, 2022

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Started35353535
Completed35353535
Not completed0000

Outcome measures

PrimaryLength of Time to Delivery

Number of minutes from induction of labor with oxytocin infusion to delivery of infant, no maximum amount of time specified.

Time frame:
Start of induction to Delivery
Reported as:
Mean · minutes
Length of Time to Delivery
minutesLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Length of Time to Delivery796 ± 411694 ± 466715 ± 497762 ± 594
SecondaryMaximum Oxytocin Infusion Rate

rate measured in milliunits/minute during induction of labour, no time limit applied.

Time frame:
Start of induction to Delivery
Reported as:
Mean · milliunits per minute
Maximum Oxytocin Infusion Rate
milliunits per minuteLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Maximum Oxytocin Infusion Rate14.85 ± 7.1633.00 ± 25.6417.14 ± 10.9939.60 ± 21.09
SecondaryNumber of Participants With Terbutaline Use

If terbutaline was injected during labor to decrease number or strength of contraction

Time frame:
Start of induction to Delivery
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Participants With Terbutaline Use
ParticipantsLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Number of Participants With Terbutaline Use0001
SecondaryRate of Cesarean Delivery

total number of patients who undergo cesarean delivery

Time frame:
Start of induction to Delivery
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Rate of Cesarean Delivery
ParticipantsLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Rate of Cesarean Delivery5241
SecondaryRate of Cesarean Delivery for Labor Arrest

Number of patients who undergo cesarean delivery due to labor arrest/ failed induction

Time frame:
Start of induction to Delivery
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Rate of Cesarean Delivery for Labor Arrest
ParticipantsLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Rate of Cesarean Delivery for Labor Arrest1130
SecondaryMaternal Blood Loss

Blood loss in milliliters

Time frame:
At delivery
Reported as:
Mean · milliliters
Maternal Blood Loss
millilitersLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Maternal Blood Loss391.14 ± 207.96358.57 ± 166.49404.29 ± 226.99491.43 ± 342.89
SecondaryNumber of Neonates With Apgar Score <7

5 minute Apgar Score \<7 \*Apgar is an acronym for which each criterion is given a minimum of 0 and maximum of 2 points: Appearance (skin color), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity (muscle tone), Respiration

Time frame:
5 minutes after birth
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Neonates With Apgar Score <7
ParticipantsLean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-Intervention
Number of Neonates With Apgar Score <70301

Adverse events

Collected over From start of oxytocin infusion until discharge from hospital after birth. We did not specify a number of days after giving birth we would collect adverse event data. However, no participants had data collected past 1 month from giving birth.. Non-serious events are listed at a 5% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Lean-Control0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)
Lean-Intervention0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)
Obese-Control0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)
Obese-Intervention0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)0/35 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)Lean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-InterventionTotal
<=18 years00000
Between 18 and 65 years35353535140
>=65 years00000
Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Lean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-InterventionTotal
Mean28.89 ± 5.7628.54 ± 5.230.63 ± 5.3126.80 ± 4.5128.71 ± 5.33
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Lean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-InterventionTotal
Female35353535140
Male00000
Race (NIH/OMB)
Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants)Lean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-InterventionTotal
American Indian or Alaska Native00000
Asian44109
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander00000
Black or African American11226
White30283233123
More than one race00000
Unknown or Not Reported02002
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Lean-ControlLean-InterventionObese-ControlObese-InterventionTotal
United States35353535140
08

Study locations

1 site
  • Banner University Medical Center Tucson
    Tucson, Arizona 85724, United States
09

References and documents

Publications

  • Wei RM, Bounthavong M, Hill MG. High- vs low-dose oxytocin in lean and obese women: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2022 Jul;4(4):100627. doi: 10.1016/j.ajogmf.2022.100627. Epub 2022 Mar 28. PubMed 35358738 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Apr 4, 2017

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 20, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03140488
Lead sponsor
University of Arizona
Responsible party
Meghan Hill (Assistant Professor, University of Arizona) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 4, 2017
Start date
Jun 5, 2017
Primary completion
Oct 12, 2018
Completion
Sep 5, 2019
Results posted
Dec 20, 2022
Last update
Dec 20, 2022

Study contacts

Meghan Hill, MBBS
principal investigator · University of Arizona

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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