title: Misoprostol preferable to ethacridine lactate for abortions at 13-20 weeks of pregnancy: Cuban experience.
abstract: Outdated second trimester abortion methods are still being used in some countries, and very few studies have compared them to currently recommended methods. To this end, we studied the efficacy and safety of vaginal misoprostol used alone for abortions in 189 women at 13-20 weeks gestation, in 2004-2006. We also retrospectively collated similar data from an historical cohort of 189 women drawn consecutively and chronologically from hospital records from 2003-2006, also at 13-20 weeks gestation, who had had abortions with a combination of extra-amniotic 0.1% ethacridine lactate solution, oxytocin and sharp curettage. At 24 hours, misoprostol was 92.6% effective in inducing abortion versus 76.2% with the ethacridine lactate regimen (OR 4.2, 95% CI 2.3-8.0). The misoprostol cohort experienced fewer complications than the ethacridine cohort (4 vs. 38 cases, OR 0.086, 95% CI 0.03-0.23). We conclude that in the absence of mifepristone, misoprostol alone is preferable to the ethacridine regimen for the termination of pregnancy in the second trimester, because it works faster, has a higher success rate in a shorter period of time, and fewer complications.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Ginecobstétrico América Arias, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.
authors.forename: Alejandro Velazco
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Boza
authors.forename: Rodolfo Gómez Ponce
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: de León
authors.forename: Luis Salas
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: Dania Rebeca Yi
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Mariño
authors.forename: Ellen M H
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D000282:Administration, Intravaginal; D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003462:Cuba; D004975:Ethacridine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016595:Misoprostol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000020:Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal; D016595:Misoprostol; D004975:Ethacridine