Intraumbilical oxytocin for management of retained placenta.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the removal of a retained placenta.
Method: Oxytocin was injected into the vein of the umbilical cord. A total of 109 patients with retention of the placenta were randomized into two groups. Active management of the third stage of labor was carried out by giving oxytocin 5 IU intravenously and ergometrine maleate 0.2 mg intramuscularly after delivery of the fetus. Group 1, which comprised 68 patients, was allocated to receive 50 IU oxytocin diluted in 10 ml 0.9% sodium chloride solution, and the 41 patients in group 2 were given 20 ml plasma expander (dextran 70) into the umbilical vein.
Results: Forty-nine cases (72%) in the oxytocin group and 22 cases (54%) in the dextran 70 group required manual removal of the retained placenta. No significant differences were found between group 1 (oxytocin) and group 2 (dextran 70).
Conclusion: Our results indicate that intraumbilical vein injection of oxytocin is not effective for removal of a retained placenta.