Year: 2026 | Month: January-March | Volume: 11 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 280-288
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijshr.20260129
Comparative Study of Efficacy and Safety of Carbetocin versus Oxytocin for Prevention of Postpartum Haemorrhage in Women with Normal Vaginal Delivery in Tertiary Care Hospital of Bihar
Bhagyashree1, Pratima2
1Tutor/Senior Resident, 2Associate Professor,
Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital,Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India
Corresponding Author: Pratima
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Given its short half-life as well as duration of activity, oxytocin is now the preferred therapy for preventing postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Nevertheless, in many developing nations where it is not possible to transport and store the product in the cold chain, its efficiency cannot be guaranteed because of its increased susceptibility to heat. Conversely, the long-acting synthetic oxytocin analogue carbetocin remains stable even at high temperatures. However, the available fact is inadequate to establish the superiority and tolerability of carbetocin or oxytocin in the prevention of PPH after vaginal delivery.
Aims/ objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of oxytocin versus carbetocin in preventing PPH in women with normal vaginal delivery.
Materials and Method: A sample of 150 women was randomly assigned to groups A and B, each consisting of 75 women, utilizing randomly generated numbers gathered through the internet. Women assigned to group A were administered 100 microgram doses of heat-stable carbetocin via a single injection, whereas women in group B had received a 10 IU dose of oxytocin intramuscularly. The primary outcome measure of interest was the average blood loss after vaginal birth. The secondary outcome measures included the percentage of women who experienced blood loss over 500 millilitres, the requirement for further uterotonic or surgical interventions, and the frequency or rate of adverse events.
Results: Mean blood loss in carbetocin group (363.58 ± 31.98) was significantly less than oxytocin group (395.83 ± 39.37) (p<0.0001). There was less requirement of additional uterotonic, blood transfusion, manual removal of placenta or additional surgical procedure in carbetocin group but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Incidence of adverse event such as abdominal pain was less in carbetocin group as compared to oxytocin group but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Our study has shown that carbetocin is more efficacious than oxytocin in preventing PPH in women who have undergone a singleton vaginal delivery. It is imperative for the government to implement measures that ensure the affordability and easy accessibility of carbetocin.
Keywords: Carbetocin, Oxytocin, Post-partum haemorrhage, Vaginal delivery, Blood Loss.