H. Elrefaey et al., THE ABORTIFACIENT EFFECT OF MISOPROSTOL IN THE 2ND TRIMESTER - A RANDOMIZED COMPARISON WITH GEMEPROST IN PATIENTS PRETREATED WITH MIFEPRISTONE (RU486), Human reproduction, 8(10), 1993, pp. 1744-1746
The objective of this work was to study the abortifacient effects of m
isoprostol, an orally active prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) analogue, in the
second trimester. A randomized study of two prostaglandin regimens in
women pre-treated with the antiprogesterone mifepristone was carried o
ut in the gynaecological wards of Aberdeen Royal Hospitals, NHS Trust,
and included 60 women at 13-20 weeks' gestation, in whom termination
of pregnancy had been agreed. Following pre-treatment with mifepriston
e 600 mg women were randomly allocated to one of two prostaglandin reg
imens which started 36-48 h later. The first misoprostol 400 mug orall
y (up to three doses) followed by gemeprost vaginal pessary 1 mg up to
two doses. The second was gemeprost vaginal pessary 1 mg up to five d
oses. The main outcome measures were success rate induction-to-abortio
n interval and side-effects. There were no significant differences bet
ween the two groups in any of the main outcome measures. We conclude t
hat misoprostol is a stable, cheap PGE1 analogue with demonstrable eff
icacy and acceptable side-effects in the management of second trimeste
r abortion. Further work is needed to establish the optimum dose and r
egimen.