A Comparative Study of Oral and Vaginal Misoprostol Administration in Mid-trimester Pregnancy Termination

Objective : To compare the effectiveness of oral misoprostol with vaginal misoprostol administration in mid-trimester pregnancy termination after pretreatment with serial laminarias tenting. Methods : This study was made in 50 patients for mid-trimester pregnancy termination at Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonbuk National University Hospital from January 1999 through December 2002. Twenty five women received misoprostol orally in a dose of 200 g every hour for 3 doses followed by 400 g every 4 hours after serial laminarias tenting. Twenty five women received misoprostol vaginally in a dose of 400 g every 4 hours after serial laminarias tenting. Side effects of drug, induction to delivery interval, delivery numbers within 24 hours, curettage numbers for retained placenta, and the length of hospital stay were compared. Results : The mean time of induction to delivery interval was significantly shorter in the vaginal group (15.512.7 vs 24.214.3 hours, p13.1 vs 47.214.5 hours, p