Studies of oxytocin in plasma of women during hypocontractile labor.

Oxytocin (OT) was measured by RIA in plasma of women during hypocontractile labor before and during graded doses of iv infused synthetic OT. Based upon in vitro studies of recovery of OT from pregnancy plasma, blood was collected into heparinized tubes which were kept at 4 C. The addition of EDTA and phenanthrolene to an aliquot of each sample resulted in measured levels of OT in plasma that correlated closely with levels measured in the absence of these reagents (r2 = 0.86). Comparison of OT levels in plasma of normal individuals determined in the presence and absence of these reagents also yielded a high degree of linear correlation (r2 = 0.97). The mean level of OT in 11 women during hypocontractile labor before the infusion of OT was 1.01 +/- 0.31 (+/- SEM) microU/ml. There was a linear correlation between the dose of OT infused and the level of OT in plasma with infused doses of OT between 1 and 4 mU/min (r2 = 0.99). The time of onset of adequate uterine contractility was recorded by on-line computer analysis, and the level of OT in plasma obtained simultaneously was variable among the women. The mean OT MCR in these women was 17.4 +/- 9.2 (+/- SEM) ml/kg X min, similar to the MCR in normal men (17.6 +/- 2.1 ml/kg X min). Levels and pharmacokinetics of OT during hypocontractile labor were similar to those in nonpregnant individuals and women in late pregnancy. The variability in OT concentrations at the time of adequate uterine contractility suggests that individual myometrial sensitivity is an important determinant of the response to administered OT in humans.