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Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Testing the Efficacy of Pharmacological Agents in a Pericardial Target Delivery Model in the Swine
Published on: July 7, 2016
Propranolol to decrease time to delivery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Sonia Biswas1, Mariella Toro2, Rebecca Horgan3
1Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA (Biswas, McLaren, Berghella, and Al-Kouatly).
Objective:
This study aimed to assess the effect of propranolol on the time to delivery among patients undergoing induction or augmentation of labor.
Data Sources:
PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and CINAHL (EBSCO) databases were searched from inception to December 2023.
Study Eligibility Criteria:
Randomized controlled trials that examined the effect of propranolol on the time to delivery among patients undergoing induction or augmentation of labor were included. Randomized controlled trials that included stillbirth before randomization, nonrandomized trials, observational, cohort, case-control, or studies in which the control group included an intervention other than standard care were excluded.
Methods:
The primary outcome was time to delivery after the administration of propranolol among patients undergoing induction or augmentation of labor. The summary measures were reported as summary mean difference or relative risk with 95% confidence interval.
Results:
A total of 5 randomized controlled trials involving 660 patients were included in this meta-analysis. 1 study investigated the effect of propranolol compared with that of placebo among patients undergoing induction of labor and did not demonstrate a significant decrease in the time to delivery (828±324 minutes in the propranolol group vs 858±318 minutes in the placebo group; P=.48). In addition, 4 studies investigated the effect of propranolol among patients undergoing augmentation of labor and showed no significant decrease in the time to delivery (mean difference, -2.98 minutes [95% confidence interval, -21.6 to 15.6]). Our pooled analysis demonstrated that the use of propranolol in the induction and augmentation of labor was not associated with a decrease in the time to delivery from the administration of propranolol compared with that of placebo (mean difference, -4.33 minutes [95% confidence interval, -22.48 to 13.83]). The meta-analysis found no increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage, blood transfusion, cesarean delivery rate, or neonatal intensive care unit admission with the use of propranolol during labor.
Conclusion:
The use of propranolol during induction and augmentation of labor did not significantly decrease the time to delivery.
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