Oxytocin augmentation of dysfunctional labor. II. Uterine activity data.

The intrauterine pressure data obtained from oxytocin-treated patients in dysfunctional labor, managed by a specific oxytocin regimen and a computer-defined goal of uterine activity, are analyzed. Questions asked concern the efficacy of the computer diagnosis of hypocontractility, the quantity of uterine activity needed to effect cervical dilatation, and the effectiveness of the quantitative data as an aid in selecting the necessary dose. The false positive diagnostic rate was one of 45 and the false negative, one of 42. The results demonstrate that there were no statistically significant differences between the computer-defined goal of activity and that associated with cervical dilatation if the dose used was permitted the time to accomplish its maximum effect. Quantitation of uterine contractility provided the information necessary to select the dose of oxytocin associated with cervical dilatation in approximately 75% of the patients.