A Comparative Study of Extra-Amniotic Instillation of Normal Saline versus Ethacridine Lactate for Induction of Labour in Antepartum Fetal Death

Objective: To compare the efficacy of extra-amniotic saline with extra-amniotic ethacridine lactate in inducing labor in pregnancies with intrauterine fetal death. Material and methods: This was a prospective randomized controlled study. 50 women with intrauterine fetal death after 20 weeks of gestation were assigned to receive either extra-amniotic infusion (150 ml) of normal saline or ethacridine lactate (150 ml) through a Foley catheter with a 30-ml inflated balloon. We induced labor using intravenous oxytocin drip only when patient did not go into spontaneous labor 6 hours after catheter expulsion. Result: The mean age was 22.6 ± 3.2 yrs and 22.5 ± 3.3 yrs and mean parity was 1.52 ± 1.1 and 1.4 ± 1.2 respectively in the normal saline and ethacridine lactate group. Mean induction to onset of uterine contraction was 10.4 ± 6.95 in saline and 14.5 ± 7.3 in ethacridine group. Induction to delivery interval was 20 ± 9.2 and 24. 7 ± 8.0 in both the groups respectively. Conclusion: Extra-amniotic saline infusion is successful in inducing labour in antepartum fetal deaths. This method has been shown to be safe and well tolerated by the women and can be considered in areas with limited resources.