Intermittent versus Continuous Catheterization and Differences in the Evolution of Labor: Systematic Review and...

To evaluate the differences between bladder emptying options (permanent catheterization and intermittent bladder emptying/spontaneous urination) regarding the effects on labor length, need of operative vaginal deliveries, and cesarean section rate.

The search was conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases.

The survey returned 964 studies. A total of 719 studies were evaluated by title and abstract, of which 4 were selected for inclusion.

All references were inserted in the Rayyan QCRI tool (Rayyan Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA). The full text of the selected articles was obtained so we could later decide whether or not to include them in this systematic review.

No differences were found in the number of instrumented deliveries or in cesarean section rate between groups.

After evaluating the studies performed on the topic, we concluded that there is no clear advantage to either method, although continuous catheterization was associated with a greater occurrence of eutocic births. In the remaining outcomes, there were no differences between catheterization types.