Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf
January 2023
Background: Oxytocin protocols are employed to induce uterine contractions and progressive cervical changes, but they are associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine whether compliance with a checklist-based protocol for oxytocin administration was associated with changes in neonatal and maternal outcomes.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 86,786 pregnant women undergoing term (> 37 weeks) induction of labor between January 2015 and December 2017 was performed.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of specific protocols that have been developed in response to a previous analysis of maternal deaths in a large hospital system. We also analyzed the theoretic impact of an ideal system of maternal triage and transport on maternal deaths and the relative performance of cause of death determination from chart review compared with a review of discharge coding data.
Study Design: We conducted a retrospective evaluation of maternal deaths from 2007-2012 after the introduction of disease-specific protocols that were based on 2000-2006 data.