Pregnancy
Impact of opioid use disorder on oxytocin required for labor induction in term pregnancies
By Kunduru H, Jiang J, Hill H and 1 others.
Abstract
Objective
Oxytocin is a neuropeptide proven to impact human labor, lactation, and social affinity and is of interest in the study of pain and μ-opioid receptor modulation. Individuals impacted by opioid use disorder (OUD) frequently have μ-opioid receptor dysregulation. In this study, we sought to investigate the effect of OUD on the effectiveness of synthetic oxytocin in term inductions of labor.
Study design
Matched retrospective cohort study of individuals with term pregnancies undergoing induction of labor with oxytocin from 2020 to 2024 at an urban safety-net hospital. The total amount of oxytocin required to achieve vaginal delivery and total induction of labor time were compared between those with OUD and those without. The groups were matched by age, parity, gestational age, month of delivery, and body mass index. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare continuous variables between two groups.