Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
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To induce labour, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guideline recommend a maximum total dose of 6 mg of prostaglandin E(2) tablet or 4 mg of prostaglandin E(2) gel for women with an unfavourable cervix (3 mg gel for all other women). To determine clinicians' compliance with these recommendations, the data of 1,424 women, who were induced at 10 obstetric units in England, were reviewed. ⋯ Women who received prostaglandin tablets had a 2.5-fold greater likelihood to receive higher-than-recommended maximum total dose (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.8-3.7; p < 0.001) and nine-times more likely to receive double the recommended maximum total dose (OR: 8.7, 95% CI: 2.9-24.4; p < 0.001). In this audit, 1 in 9 women, who underwent induction of labour, received higher than the recommended maximum total dose of vaginal prostaglandin.