Improving oxytocin administration practices in labour wards: A clinical audit and re-audit at Nyala Teaching Hospital improving oxytocin use in labour wards
Ahmed Abo Kalam
A
BSTRACT
Background:
Oxytocin is commonly used for the induction and augmentation of labour, but improper administration can result in severe maternal and neonatal complications. Despite international guidelines, adherence in low-resource settings remains suboptimal.
Objectives:
To evaluate adherence to international oxytocin administration standards and assess the impact of a structured educational intervention at Nyala Teaching Hospital.
Design:
A two-cycle retrospective clinical audit conducted before and after an educational intervention.
Setting:
Labour and Delivery Unit, Nyala Teaching Hospital, a tertiary care centre in South Darfur, Sudan.
Participants:
Two hundred labouring women who received oxytocin for induction or augmentation were included. Exclusion criteria were caesarean deliveries without attempted induction and incomplete records.
Interventions:
A structured educational session covering WHO/NICE guidelines, posters displaying oxytocin protocols, and visual checklists integrated into patient files. These interventions were implemented between audit cycles.
Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures:
Primary outcomes: compliance with five key audit criteria (informed consent, clinical indication, foetal monitoring, dose titration, documentation). Secondary outcome: improvement in staff knowledge via a 10-item questionnaire.
Results:
Post-intervention, compliance significantly improved across all criteria (informed consent: 62% to 96%, foetal monitoring: 55% to 91%, dose titration: 49% to 88%, all
Conclusions:
Structured, low-cost educational interventions significantly improve adherence to oxytocin administration standards. Routine audits and targeted training are vital to sustaining clinical quality and safety in labour wards, particularly in resource-limited settings.