• S McDonald, W J Prendiville, and D Elbourne.
• Women and Infants Research Foundation, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, Centre for Women's Health, 374 Bagot Road, Subiaco, WA, Australia, 6008. suemcdon@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
• Cochrane Db Syst Rev. 2000 Jan 1 (2): CD000201.

BackgroundThe routine prophylactic administration of an oxytocic agent is an integral part of active management of the third stage of labour. These agents help prevent postpartum haemorrhage.ObjectivesThe objective of this review was to assess the effects of ergometrine-oxytocin (syntometrine) with oxytocin alone in reducing the risk of postpartum haemorrhage (blood loss of equal to or greater than 500 millilitres) and other maternal and neonatal outcomes.Search StrategyWe searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register.Selection CriteriaTrials of oxytocic drugs (syntometrine or oxytocin) in women having the third stage of labour managed actively.Data Collection And AnalysisEligibility, trial quality assessment and data extraction were done independently by three reviewers. Study authors were contacted for additional information.Main ResultsSix trials were included. Compared with oxytocin, ergometrine-oxytocin (syntometrine) was associated with a small reduction in the risk of postpartum haemorrhage (odds ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.65 to 0.85). This advantage was smaller but still significant when 10 international units of oxytocin was used. There was no difference seen between the groups using either five or 10 international units for blood loss equal to or greater than 1000 millilitres. Adverse effects of vomiting and hypertension were associated with the use of ergometrine-oxytocin. No significant differences were found in other maternal or neonatal outcomes.Reviewer's ConclusionsThe use of the combination preparation syntometrine (oxytocin and ergometrine) as part of the routine active management of the third stage of labour appears to be associated with a statistically significant reduction in the risk of postpartum haemorrhage when compared to oxytocin where blood loss is less than 1000ml. No difference was seen between the groups using either five or 10 international units for blood loss equal to or greater than 1000 millilitres. This needs to be weighed against the more common adverse effects associated with the use of syntometrine.

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