Early pregnancy termination with vaginal misoprostol before and after 42 days gestation.
BACKGROUND
Misoprostol is a prostaglandin E(1) analogue that has been used for medical abortion. We conducted this prospective study to compare the efficacy of vaginal misoprostol for abortion in women at a gestational age of <42 days and in women at a gestational age of 42-56 days.


METHODS
A total of 160 women seeking medical termination of a pregnancy of <56 days were enrolled in the study. Medical termination was performed using 800 micro g of vaginal misoprostol, repeated every 24 h for a maximum of three doses.


RESULTS
The overall complete abortion rate was 91.3%. In group A (gestation <42 days) complete abortion occurred in 96.3% of women, whereas in group B (gestation = 42-56 days) complete abortion occurred in 86.3% of women (P < 0.025). The two groups did not differ significantly with respect to side-effects (incidence of pain, bleeding, nausea, diarrhoea, fever and headache). Women who had aborted successfully were significantly more satisfied with the method compared with women who did not (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The vaginal misoprostol-alone regimen is highly effective for women seeking medical abortion of pregnancies of <or=56 days. However, better efficacy may be achieved at a gestational age of <42 days.
Zikopoulos
K A
KA
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Medical School of Ioannina, GR-451 10 Ioannina, Greece.
Papanikolaou
E G
EG
Kalantaridou
S N
SN
Tsanadis
G D
GD
Plachouras
N I
NI
Dalkalitsis
N A
NA
Paraskevaidis
E A
EA
D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000028:Abortion, Induced; D000282:Administration, Intravaginal; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003967:Diarrhea; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever; D005865:Gestational Age; D006261:Headache; D006801:Humans; D016595:Misoprostol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D009325:Nausea; D010146:Pain; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014592:Uterine Hemorrhage
D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal; D016595:Misoprostol