Combined administration of misoprostol in the first and second trimester missed abortion cases.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to investigate the effectiveness and adverse effects of combined (vaginal + oral) administration of misoprostol in missed abortion cases.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

48 missed abortion cases between 8 and 20 weeks of gestation were enrolled in this study. Misoprostol-induced medical abortion was planned; the first dose (200 microg) was administered intravaginally and subsequent doses (200 microg each) orally every following hour. A maximum of six doses (1200 microg) were used. Revision curettage was performed on all subjects who aborted.

RESULTS

The mean time interval from the first dose of misoprostol until the abortion was 6.27 +/- 3.02 hours. The success rate was 95% for the whole group. We observed misoprostol-related trembling in one patient and fever in two patients.

CONCLUSION

We believe that our low-dose combined misoprostol protocol is a safe, effective and well-tolerated method with minimal adverse effects for the termination of both first and second trimester pregnancy losses.