Intra/extra-amniotic administration of prostaglandin F2a in fetal death, missed and therapeutic abortions.

Prostaglandin F2a was used for termination of pregnancy in two groups of patients. The first included eighteen patients with either missed abortion or intrauterine fetal death, and were treated by intrauterine-extraamniotic infusion of 20 mg prostaglandin F2a. The treatment was successful in 14 patients (mean induction-abortion interval 6.7 hours). Four patients, where the above method failed to induce labor, were given intravenously prostaglandin F2a or oxytocin simultaneously or separately; the expulsion time ranged from 12 to 48 hours. The second group included twelve patients who underwent a therapeutic abortion following either a diagnosis of fetal congenital abnormality or because of a maternal indication. The therapeutic abortion was performed using prostaglandin F2a (25-40 mg) via amniocentesis. The treatment was successful in all patients (mean induction-delivery interval 10.6 hours).