ORAL MISOPROSTOL FOR CERVICAL PRIMING IN NONPREGNANT WOMEN

Endometrial biopsy and hysteroscopy are important investigations in wo men presenting with abnormal vaginal bleeding. Endometrial biopsy is o ften performed as an outpatient procedure by endometrial aspiration. D ifficulty in entering the internal cervical os may be encountered, esp ecially in nulliparous women. The same problem may occur during hyster oscopy or dilatation and curettage. It is well known that use of a cer vical priming agent is effective in reducing complications during cerv ical dilatation in pregnant women. However, its use in non-pregnant wo men is not well established. We compared oral misoprostol versus place bo for a cervical priming effect in non-pregnant women prior to hyster oscopy. The cumulative force required for cervical dilatation was sign ificantly lower whereas the baseline cervical dilatation was significa ntly greater in the misoprostol group. We conclude that oral misoprost ol is effective for pre-operative cervical dilatation in non-pregnant women.