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Cervical ripening with the Foley catheter
Author(s) -
Cromi A.,
Ghezzi F.,
Tomera S.,
Uccella S.,
Lischetti B.,
Bolis P.F.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2006.10.014
Subject(s) - medicine , foley catheter , endometritis , chorioamnionitis , foley , obstetrics , bishop score , catheter , ripening , vaginal delivery , pregnancy , gestational age , cervix , surgery , chemistry , food science , cancer , biology , genetics
Objective : To evaluate maternal and neonatal outcomes in a large series of patients undergoing cervical ripening with a Foley catheter. Methods : The database of the Labor and Delivery Unit of the University of a teaching hospital in Italy was used to identify consecutive patients with a Bishop score (BS) of 4 or less who underwent pre‐induction cervical ripening with a Foley catheter. The main outcome measures were clinical chorioamnionitis, endometritis, and suspected and culture‐proven neonatal sepsis. Results : Of 602 women undergoing cervical ripening with a Foley catheter, 160 (26.6%) went into active labor without additional interventions. Oxytocin was administered immediately after removal of the Foley catheter in 188 (31.2%) of the women, and 254 (42.2%) required an application of prostaglandin E2 vaginal gel. The cesarean delivery rate was 25.6%. The median time to delivery was 1469 min (range, 94–3350 min). Of the women who gave birth vaginally, 225 (50.2%) were delivered within 24 h. Clinical chorioamnionitis and postpartum endometritis occurred in 3 (0.5%) and 6 (1.0%) of the women, respectively. Neonatal sepsis was suspected in 4 (0.7%) of the newborns but blood culture results were negative in all cases. Conclusion : Transcervical use of the Foley catheter is safe for pre‐induction cervical ripening, and the associated risk of maternal or perinatal infections is negligible.