Efficacy and Safety of Carbetocin Given as an Intravenous Bolus Compared With Short Infusion for Caesarean Section: Double-blind, Double-dummy, Randomized Controlled Noninferiority Trial
(Br J Anaesth. 2017;118(5):772–780) Uterotonic drugs, such as oxytocin, are given after cesarean section (CS) to help maintain uterine tone. It is recommended that these drugs be administered as a short, rapid infusion rather than a bolus, so as to minimize adverse side effects. However, there are no trial designs that show noninferiority of uterine tone using a slower mode of drug administration. Carbetocin is a synthetic oxytocin analogue with the same mechanism of action and side effects as oxytocin but with a longer half-life. The authors of the present study investigated the efficacy of a 100 mcg carbetocin dose on uterine contractility administered as a short, rapid infusion compared to a slow manual injection.