title: A randomized trial of 2 regimens for the administration of vaginal prostaglandins (gemeprost) for the induction of midtrimester abortion.
abstract: The most frequently used method for second trimester termination of pregnancy is administration of gemeprost (16, 16-dimethyl-trans delta 2-prostaglandin E1methyl ester) as a vaginal pessary. This provides a safe and effective method for achieving abortion. The current prescribing advice is to insert the pessaries into the posterior vaginal fornix every 3 hours. This study compares this to a 6-hourly regimen. The median abortion interval in the 6-hour group was shorter than the 3-hour group (15 versus 16 hours respectively) but the cumulative abortion rates were similar (98% in the 3-hour group and 91.8% in the 6-hour group). The 6-hour group required a significantly lower total dose of gemeprost to induce abortion. There was no difference in the rates of side-effects in the 2 groups but those receiving pessaries every 6 hours required less analgesia. This study finds no advantage in giving gemeprost every 3 hours.
authors.affiliation: Liverpool Women's Hospital, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Armatage
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Luckas
mesh_terms: D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000527:Alprostadil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000698:Analgesia; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D010570:Pessaries; D011247:Pregnancy; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011459:Prostaglandins E, Synthetic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal; D011459:Prostaglandins E, Synthetic; C021182:gemeprost; D000527:Alprostadil