ClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03650972Updated Aug 29, 2018

Implementation of AFL Monitoring in Clinical Use

An interventional study of Samarin in Labour Dystocia, sponsored by Turku University Hospital. Status unknown. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-08-29.

Sponsored by Turku University Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Aug 2018), so the status shown — last known as Not yet recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
200
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

The overall objective of this randomized controlled trial is to develop a clinical standard procedure for measuring lactate in amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid lactate = = AFL) during childbirth before oxytocin stimulation is started. The aim is to reduce the need for emergency caesarean section during dysfunctional labour. The aim is also to study how different substances (oxytocin and Samarin®) affect uterine metabolic status during labour.

Labour dystocia, i.e. prolonged labour, occurs in up to 30% in primipara deliveries and in about 20% of all the deliveries. In 2016, in Finland oxytocin stimulation was used in 42% of all the deliveries.

The uterus, myometrium, is one of the largest muscles in the human body and consists mainly of smooth muscle cells. During the contractions the myometrial vessels also contract, causing momentary hypoxia and activation of anaerobic metabolism: O2 and pH levels of the muscle cell decreases and the lactate concentration increases. After the contraction, the blood circulation is restored and the anaerobic metabolites gradually dissolve. Myometrium requires a sufficiently long break between the contractions to recover. In dysfunctional labour the anaerobic metabolites accumulate in the myometrium. Accumulation of lactate has proved significantly to reduce the spontaneous contractions of myometrium and hinder myometrium calcium metabolism, which in turn reduces the strength of the contractions. Amniotic fluid lactate is known to reflect the metabolic state of the uterus during the labour.

Prolonged labour can in many aspects be compared to the athlete's tired muscles. Many of today's athletes try to control the accumulation of lactic acid in their muscles during training by drinking baking soda (bicarbonate) dissolved in water one hour before their physical activity. Bicarbonate is known to function as a lactic acid buffer. Bicarbonate is considered as food and is sold in grocery stores as baking soda and for example as Samarin®. Samarin® is safe to use during pregnancy because as a bicarbonate it does not pass through placenta and does not affect the fetus.

The trial aims to research if high AFL values (AFL > 12 mmol/L) in women with labour arrest are best treated by:

A) treating the labour according to the hospital's current guidelines during labour arrest, i.e. starting the stimulation with oxytocin and measuring the AFL again after one hour B) administering bicarbonate (Samarin®) dissolved in water one hour before starting the stimulation with oxytocin

02

Conditions studied

  • Labour Dystocia

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03

In context

Dystocia

55 studies on the registry are indexed under Dystocia; 12 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 200 is close to the median of 200 across 42 interventional studies indexed under Dystocia.

Browse Dystocia studies →

Lead sponsor

Turku University Hospital is the lead sponsor of 287 studies on the registry; 67 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • gestational age at least 37 + 0 weeks
  • singleton pregnancy
  • cephalic presentation
  • active labor (regular painful contractions, effaced cervix open at least 3cm)
  • arrested labour progress according partogram and clinic guidelines

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • intra uterine fetal growth retardation (> 22%)
  • intra uterine fetal death
  • threat of fetal asphyxia
  • severe vaginal bleeding
  • disproportion between the fetal head and the mother's pelvis
  • hypertonic contractions (more than 5 in 10 minutes)
  • known allergy or to oxytocin or to any of derivatives
  • women who cannot understand the information of the study
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
200 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    A, Non-bicarbonate

    When labour arrest is diagnosed and the first AFL \> 12 mmol/L the participants will be randomized to two groups. In group A the labour is treated according to the hospital's current guidelines during labour arrest, i.e. the stimulation with oxytocin is started and AFL is measured again after one hour

  • Active comparator
    B, Bicarbonate group

    When labour arrest is diagnosed and the first AFL \> 12 mmol/L the participants will be randomized to two groups. In group B the participant will drink bicarbonate (2 packages of Samarin®) dissolved in 200 ml of water. Then after one hour the AFL will be measured again and the stimulation with oxytocin will be started if there is no progress in the cervix.

    Other: Samarin

Interventions

  • OtherSamarin

    Arm: Active Comparator: B, Bicarbonate group When labour arrest is diagnosed and the first AFL \> 12 mmol/L the participants will be randomized to two groups. In group B the participant will drink bicarbonate (2 packages of Samarin®) dissolved in 200 ml of water. Then after one hour the AFL will be measured again and the stimulation with oxytocin will be started if there is no progress in the cervix.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Spontaneus Vaginal delivery

    Time frame: by the end of the delivery

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Sep 2018; primary completion for Dec 2020, 27 months later.

Of 18 interventional studies with no phase under Dystocia, half reached primary completion within 23 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 18 and three quarters within 40. This study's planned 27 months is above that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Aug 27, 2018
First posted
Aug 29, 2018
StartEst.
Sep 15, 2018
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2020
CompletionEst.
Dec 31, 2020
Last update
Aug 29, 2018
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 29, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03650972
Responsible party
Susanna Koski (Medical Doctor, Turku University Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 29, 2018
Start date
Sep 15, 2018 (estimated)
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2020 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2020 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 29, 2018

Study contacts

Susanna Koski
Contact
sskosk@utu.fi
+358408395362

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is status unknown, as verified in Aug 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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