SynthesisActa obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica2025
Inpatient vaginal dinoprostone vs outpatient balloon catheters for cervical ripening in induction of labor: An individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Outpatient or Inpatient Setting for Cervical Ripening Before Induction of Labour: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Pooled it
- Inpatient vaginal dinoprostone vs outpatient balloon catheters for cervical ripening in induction of labor: An individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Induction of Labor in Late-Term and Post-Term Pregnancies Using Double-Balloon Catheter for Cervical Ripening: Predictors of Prolonged Labor Across Four Combined Augmentation Protocols in a Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Individual participant data meta-analysis tips and tricks: troubleshooting commonly encountered issues of contacting trialists for individual participant data.JBI evidence synthesis · 2026Article
- Data-sharing and trustworthiness of trials evaluating cervical ripening in induction of labour: a meta-epidemiological study of randomised controlled trials.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionOutpatient cervical ripening and induction of labor might offer potential benefits. There are a few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing outpatient balloon catheters with inpatient vaginal dinoprostone, but the reported outcomes among these trials were inconsistent, justifying the need for a meta-analysis. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of inpatient vaginal dinoprostone compared to outpatient balloon catheters for cervical ripening in labor induction. MATERIAL AND
methodsEligible RCTs were identified using MEDLINE, Emcare, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and clinicaltrials.gov from inception to July 2024. Women with live singleton pregnancies at 34 or more weeks of gestation were eligible. The authors of eligible trials were invited to share their de-identified data. The main outcomes were vaginal birth and a composite adverse perinatal and maternal outcome. All analyses were adjusted for age and parity. Two-stage random effects meta-analysis was the main analysis strategy with the intention-to-treat principle. This meta-analysis was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022313183) on 27-04-2022.
resultsWe identified three eligible RCTs, and all three shared data (N = 1636); inpatient vaginal dinoprostone (n = 832), outpatient balloon catheter (n = 804). The odds of vaginal birth were higher after inpatient vaginal dinoprostone than outpatient balloon catheter (67.8% vs 61.7%, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.30, 95% CI 1.05-1.62, I
conclusionsBalloon catheter used in an outpatient labor induction setting probably leads to fewer vaginal births compared to vaginal dinoprostone in an inpatient setting. In pre-planned subgroup analysis, for pregnant women with underweight/normal weight, both inpatient vaginal dinoprostone and outpatient balloon catheter methods are viable options, but balloon catheter has a lower vaginal birth rate in women with overweight and obesity during pregnancy. The perinatal and maternal safety profiles are comparable.
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