The Role of Low Dose Misoprostol in Cervical Ripening and Induction of Labour Beyond the Age of Viability and its Effects on Maternal and Fetal Outcomes

This study was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of oral (50 μg) and vaginal (25 μg) misoprostol for cervical ripening and induction of labour. Two hundred patients with indications for labour induction randomly received either 50 μg oral misoprostol every 4 h (Group-I) or 25 μg vaginal misoprostol every 4 h (Group-II), for maximum of six doses. Mean induction to delivery time, delivery within 24 hrs, mode of delivery, oxytocin use, number of doses used, failed induction rate and maternal complication and fetal outcomes were compared for the two groups. Mean induction delivery time was significantly longer in Group-I (20.55±5.59 hrs) than in Group-II (16.70±7.12 hrs) (with mean difference of 3.85 and P-value of <0.001). Mean number of doses of misoprostol used for oral and vaginal misoprostol study populations were 2.61±0.94 and2.37±1.20respectively. Oxytocin augmentation was required in significantly more number of patients in oral group (80%) than in vaginal group (68%) with P-value of 0.027. There were 3 failed inductions in the oral and 4 in the vaginal group after a total of six doses of misoprostol. Incidence of maternal and fetal complications was similar between two groups. Our findings indicated that, 25μg vaginal misoprostol has the potential to induce labor as safely as, and more effectively than, 50 μg oral analogue. JMS 2017; 20(1):18-21