Two doses, 200 and 400 mu g, of misoprostol, administered vaginally ev
ery 12 hours, up to four times, were tested in 101 and 133 healthy wom
en, respectively, for interruption of pregnancies with 35 through 77 d
ays of amenorrhea. The proportion of women who aborted increased with
longer duration of treatment and was significantly higher with 400 tha
n with 200 mu g (66 versus 46 percent at 48 hours). Significance was m
aintained after controlling by age, body weight, parity, previous abor
tion and gestational age. Abortions were classified as incomplete or c
omplete, according to the presence or not of embryonic tissue in the u
terine cavity, diagnosed by Vaginal sonography. Vacuum aspiration was
carried out in all cases not classified as complete abortion 48 hours
after the initiation of treatment, or earlier in case of persistent bl
eeding or woman's request. The possibility of increasing effectiveness
by using higher dose, shorter intervals or longer duration of treatme
nt is discussed.