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Article: Know your hospital's protocol for use of Pitocin in labor.(Women's Health)
- Article from:
- Family Practice News
- Article date:
- February 15, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO -- Before you write an order for Pitocin administration to induce or augment labor, be sure you know your hospital's protocol for Pitocin use, Dennis J. Sinclitico, J.D., said.
In the three most recent obstetrical malpractice cases in which he served as a defense attorney, the physicians gave nurses orders for Pitocin (oxytocin) that contradicted the hospital's protocol, he said at a conference on obstetrics, gynecology, perinatal medicine, neonatology, and the law.
That contradiction forces nurses to make decisions about the utilization, titration, and discontinuation of Pitocin "without the comfort and background of their own ...