Low-dose vaginal misoprostol with or without Foley catheter for late second-trimester pregnancy termination in women with previous multiple cesarean sections.

Purpose: To compare between low dose vaginal misoprostol with and without Foley catheter for late second trimester pregnancy termination in women with previous multiple cesarean sections. Materials and methods: A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial, patients were randomly allocated to either low dose vaginal misoprostol group (n = 40) or combined low dose vaginal misoprostol plus Foley catheter group (n = 38). The primary outcome was complete abortion. Secondary outcomes were induction-to-abortion interval, the number of misoprostol doses and occurrence of complications.

Results

Incomplete abortion rate was significantly lower in combined group than misoprostol only group (2.6%versus 15% respectively, p = .03). Induction-to-expulsion interval with the combined vaginal misoprostol plus Foley catheter was significantly shorter (p = .01) and the number of misoprostol doses in the combined group was significantly lower (p = .04). No statistically significant difference in the frequency of complications between both groups.

Conclusions

The combination of low dose vaginal misoprostol and Foley catheter is an effective and safe method for termination of second trimester pregnancy in women with previous multiple cesarean sections.