Mahmood 1992.

Methods	Randomised by numbered, sealed envelope.
Participants	220 women with SROM. Inclusion criteria: primigravidae, singleton pregnancies, cephalic presentation, no uterine activity, confirmed SROM. Exclusion criteria: no significant antepartum haemorrhage, IUGR, diabetes mellitus, rhesus disease, moderate pre‐eclampsia, history of venereal disease, temperature of > 37.5C, ruptured membranes > 12 hours or meconium‐stained amniotic fluid on admission.
Interventions	2 mg PGE2 vaginal gel (n = 110) with a repeat treatment of 1 mg PGE2 gel at 6 hours if no uterine activity. Oxytocin administered 24 hours after admission if labour had not begun. Conservative group (n = 110) received oxytocin at 24 hours after admission if labour did not ensue.
Outcomes	Time from admission to onset of labour or delivery, mode of delivery, oxytocin augmentation, epidural anaesthesia, maternal side‐effects, maternal and neonatal infection rates, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes, NICU admission rates.
Notes	Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Scotland, UK. January 1988 to May 1990.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Method of random sequence generation not reported.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Numbered, sealed envelopes, not stated if opaque.
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No blinding.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No blinding.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No randomised patients lost to follow‐up.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	Unclear which outcomes prespecified.
Other bias	Unclear risk	Single centre RCT.