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Comparison of vaginal misoprostol and gemeprost as pretreatment in first trimester pregnancy interruption
Author(s) -
Henry AilaMaija,
Haukkamaa Maija
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1999.tb08321.x
Subject(s) - medicine , misoprostol , nausea , obstetrics , vomiting , vacuum aspiration , pregnancy , vagina , population , abortion , anesthesia , surgery , family planning , research methodology , environmental health , biology , genetics
Objective To compare the effectiveness of vaginal misoprostol pretreatment with standard gemeprost pre‐treatment in first trimester pregnancy termination. Design A prospective randomised study. Population One hundred and ninety‐nine women scheduled for day case termination of pregnancy during the first trimester. Methods Cervical priming with a vaginally applied 200 μg tablet of misoprostol for at least four hours, compared with a 1.0 mg vaginal suppository of gemeprost for at least three hours before vacuum aspiration. Main outcome measures The prostaglandin effect on baseline cervical dilatation was the main outcome. Others were occurrence of pre‐operative pain and need for analgesia, pre‐operative side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, presence of blood in the vagina and blood loss during the operation. Results There was no significant difference in the dilatation ability of misoprostol or gemeprost, nor in the preoperative use of analgesics. The frequency of nausea and diarrhoea was significantly less common in the misoprostol treated women. Conclusions Vaginally applied misoprostol is as effective as gemeprost in cervical priming prior to first trimester vacuum aspiration. Misoprostol was associated with fewer side effects than gemeprost.