Do uterotonic drugs increase risk of abruptio placentae and eclampsia?

Purpose: To determine whether the use of uterotonics, including oxytocin and prostaglandins, increases the risk of abruptio placentae and eclampsia. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted among 260,174 Japanese women at term. Demographic characteristics were studied as possible candidates for risk factors of abruptio placentae and eclampsia using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: A total of 1,058 (0.41 %) and 147 (0.06 %) women developed abruptio placentae and eclampsia, respectively. Abruptio placentae and eclampsia occurred in 177 (0.29 %) and 42 (0.07 %) of the 61,857 women treated with uterotonics, respectively. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that uterotonics did not increase risk of developing either abruptio placentae or eclampsia. Primiparity [odds ratio (95 % confidence interval) 1.41 (1.24-1.60)], age ≥35 years [1.17 (1.03-1.33)], and presence of hypertension [2.42 (1.93-3.03)] were significant independent risk factors for abruptio placentae, while advancing gestation [0.67 (0.63-0.71)] decreased risk of abruptio placentae. Primiparity [odds ratio (95 % confidence interval) 4.06 (2.49-6.63)], age <20 years [2.44 (1.07-5.58)], presence of hypertension [28.7 (20.5-40.1)], and advancing gestation [1.28 (1.11-1.47)] were significant independent risk factors for eclampsia. Conclusion: The use of uterotonics did not increase the risk of abruptio placentae and eclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]