Comparative study of Efficacy and Safety of Carbetocin versus Oxytocin for Prevention of Postpartum Haemorrhage in Women Undergoing Normal Vaginal Delivery in Tertiary Care Centre of Bihar

Introduction:Since oxytocin has a brief half-life and duration of action, it is currently the recommended treatment for avoiding postpartum haemorrhage.However, in numerous medium-to small-sized countries wherein cold chain transit and storage are not feasible, its effectiveness cannot be assured due to its heat sensitivity.On the other hand, the long-acting oxytocin analogue carbetocin is stable in the heat.Nevertheless, there is insufficient data to determine whether carbetocin or oxytocin is more effective and tolerable in preventing postpartum haemorrhage following vaginal birth.Aims/objective: To evaluate and compare the safety and effectiveness of oxytocin and carbetocin in reducing postpartum haemorrhage in women undergoing normal vaginal delivery. Materials and Method:Using randomly generated numbers from the internet, 100 women were split into groups C and O, each with 50 women.Women in group O received an intramuscular injection of oxytocin at a dosage of 10 IU, while women in group C received a single injection of heat-stable carbetocin at a dosage of 100 μg.The medications were started as soon as the baby was born.The mean blood loss following vaginal delivery served as the main outcome measure.Secondary outcome variables were the Proportion of women who lost more than 500 millilitres of blood, the need for additional uterotonic or surgical treatments, and the frequency of adverse events. Results:Women receiving carbetocin experienced a mean blood loss that was comparatively lower to those receiving oxytocin, and the difference was of statistical significance (p < 0.05).In contrast, there was no discernible variation in the Proportion of women with PPH (blood loss greater than 500 millilitres).Although fewer women in the carbetocin group needed blood transfusions or extra uterotonic medications, this difference didn't appear to be of statistical significance (p >0.05).There was not a significant difference (p>0.05) between the two groups with respect to incidence of adverse events. Conclusion:In women who have had a singleton vaginal delivery, carbetocin has been demonstrated to be more effective than oxytocin in avoiding postpartum haemorrhage.The government needs to take action to guarantee that carbetocin is affordable and readily available.