Pilot study on the use of sublingual misoprostol with mifepristone in termination of first trimester pregnancy up to 9 weeks gestation. (25/197)

BACKGROUND: A combination of mifepristone and misoprostol provides an effective method of medical abortion for early pregnancy. A new route of administration of misoprostol, the sublingual route, was investigated in this study. METHODS: One hundred women who requested legal termination of pregnancy up to 63 days were given 200 mg of oral mifepristone followed 48 h later by 800 microg (4 x 200 microg tablets) of sublingual misoprostol. RESULTS: Ninety-four women (94%) had a complete abortion with this regimen. There was one ongoing pregnancy. The median duration of vaginal bleeding was 15 days. There were no serious complications. However, lower abdominal pain, diarrhoea, chills and fever were the commonest side-effects with incidences of 89, 42, 38 and 79% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of mifepristone and sublingual misoprostol is effective for medical abortion up to 63 days gestation. Randomized trials are required to compare its efficacy and side-effect profile with vaginal misoprostol.  (+info)

The kinetics of serum hCG and progesterone in response to oral and vaginal administration of misoprostol during medical termination of early pregnancy. (26/197)

BACKGROUND: Misoprostol is widely used in combination with mifepristone for medical termination of pregnancy. We studied the endocrine parameters of trophoblast function during medical termination of early pregnancy using mifepristone in combination with oral or vaginal misoprostol. The effect of prolonged misoprostol administration was also examined. METHODS: Thirty-four women, requesting termination of pregnancy and with +info)

Early pregnancy termination with vaginal misoprostol before and after 42 days gestation. (27/197)

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 +info)

Fenprostalene-induced abortion in bitches. (28/197)

A long-acting prostaglandin F(2alpha) analogue, fenprostalene, was subcutaneously administered singly at doses of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 or 150 microg on day 25 after ovulation during pregnancy in bitches (n=4 for each dosage), and maintenance of pregnancy, changes in plasma progesterone concentration, interval between the treatment and subsequent estrus and conception rate at that estrus were studied. Abortion was associated with a decrease in the plasma progesterone concentration below about 2 ng/ml, and the abortifacient effect was dose-dependent. Administration of 50 microg or more of fenprostalene induced abortion in all dogs 3 to 13 days after the treatment. The interval between administration and subsequent estrus was markedly shorter in the aborted bitches than in the non-aborted ones (P<0.01). The conception rate at the estrus in the aborted dogs was 50%, whereas all of the bitches who had not aborted became pregnant. The results indicate that a single administration of fenprostalene could induce abortion during mid-pregnancy in bitches, and the subsequent estrus may come early with a low conception rate.  (+info)

A prospective randomized study to compare the use of repeated doses of vaginal with sublingual misoprostol in the management of first trimester silent miscarriages. (29/197)

BACKGROUND: A randomized controlled trial comparing sublingual with vaginal administration of misoprostol for medical management of silent miscarriages. METHODS: Eighty women who had silent miscarriages (<13 weeks) were randomized to receive 600 micro g of misoprostol every 3 h for a maximum of three doses either sublingually or vaginally. RESULTS: The success rates of medical management were the same in both groups (87.5%; 95% CI: 74-95%). There were no serious complications. The incidence of diarrhoea was higher in the sublingual (70%) than the vaginal route (27.5%) (P < 0.005). Other side effects were similar in each group, although fatigue was experienced by more women in the sublingual group than in the vaginal group (65 versus 40%: P = 0.043). The overall acceptability of medical management was good. Most women would choose the medical method if they were allowed to choose again and would recommend the method to others. CONCLUSION: The current regimen of misoprostol is useful for the management of silent miscarriage in terms of complete miscarriage rate and patient acceptability. Sublingual misoprostol may offer an alternative for women who do not like repeated vaginal administration of the drug.  (+info)

Predictors of success in methotrexate treatment of women with unruptured tubal pregnancies. (30/197)

OBJECTIVE: The use of methotrexate (MTX) for the treatment of tubal ectopic pregnancy (EP) has become common practice, although the factors associated with a favorable outcome are not totally clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of successful MTX treatment. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-seven women with unruptured tubal EP in whom the hematosalpinx could be directly visualized by pelvic ultrasound were studied. Women who met the inclusion criteria were treated with MTX either: 50 mg/m(2) intramuscularly (n = 70) or with 1 mg/kg injected directly into the hematosalpinx under sonographic guidance (n = 67). The associations between the outcome of the treatment and different factors studied (human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) level, progesterone level, hematosalpinx diameter, hemoperitoneum volume and mode of MTX administration) were analyzed. RESULTS: The overall success rate, defined by a post-treatment normal hCG level (< 10 mIU/mL), was 79.6%. The initial hCG level and the route of administration of MTX appeared to be two independent factors that predicted success. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the success rate was significantly better when MTX was administered locally: the odds ratio (OR) was 9.7 (95% CI, 3.1-30), and was significantly poorer when the hCG level was >/= 1000 mIU/mL (P < 0.002): the OR was 0.10 (95% CI, 0.07-0.49). CONCLUSION: Among selected women with tubal EPs, the route of administration of MTX and the initial level of serum hCG are the most important factors associated with the success of medical treatment.  (+info)

A comparative study of vaginal misoprostol and intravenous oxytocin for induction of labour in women with intra uterine fetal death in Mulago Hospital, Uganda. (31/197)

BACKGROUND: Intrauterine fetal death is a major problem in obstetrics particularly in developing countries such as Uganda. Induction of labour in cases of fetal death using the available method of oxytocin is often difficult, expensive and frustrating. OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of vaginal misoprostol and intravenous oxytocin in induction of labour in women with intrauterine fetal death. METHODS: One hundred and twenty mothers were allocated in a randomised controlled way to one of the two induction groups. Oxytocin infusion was titrated based on patient response. The starting dose was 50 mcg (1/4 tablet) in misoprostol group and the dose was doubled every six hours till effective contractions were achieved. The two groups were compared for induction to delivery intervals, costs of the drugs and their safety during induction. RESULTS: The success rate within 48 hours of induction was 100% in the misoprostol group and 96.7% in oxytocin group. The mean induction to delivery time was significantly longer in the oxytocin group compared with the misoprostol group (23.3 versus 12.4 hours; p= 0.004). In the gestational age before 28 weeks, the induction to delivery interval in oxytocin group, was more than twice that used in misoprostol. However beyond 28 weeks, there was no significant difference. Women with intact membranes had induction to delivery interval of 27.9 hours in the oxytocin group and 14.7 hours in the misoprostol group (p=0.002). When the membranes were ruptured, the values were 10.5 and 8.5 hours respectively (p=0.6). The induction to delivery time in cases with Bishop's score < 6 was 29.8 hours in the oxytocin group and 15.9 hours in misoprostol group (p=0.001). The corresponding values for Bishop's scores > 6 were 10 and 7.9 hours respectively (p=0.6). The majority of patients in misoprostol group (62%), required less than one tablet for successful induction. Misoprostol was cheaper (0.65 US dollars than oxytocin (7.86 US dollars) Retained placenta occurred in only 3.3% of the patients in the misoprostol group. There were no cases of ruptured uterus in both groups. CONCLUSION: Intravaginal misoprostol is more effective and cheaper than intravenous oxytocin for inducing labour in patients with intrauterine fetal death.  (+info)

Autism and Mobius sequence: an exploratory study of children in northeastern Brazil. (32/197)

The psychiatric examination was performed with diagnostic instruments for autism (DSM-IV and Childhood Autism Rating Scale-CARS) in 23 children with Mobius sequence. From the 23 patients studied with Mobius sequence, five (26.1%) met the diagnostic criteria for infantile autism according DSM-IV and two (8.6%), under two years old, showed autistic-like behavior. The scores for six children were compatible to severe autism symptoms according CARS and one child met the criteria for moderate autism symptoms. Among five children with autism, three (60%) had positive history of misoprostol exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy and from two cases autistic-like, one (50%) had positive history of misoprostol exposure during pregnancy. According to our data, this is the first report of Mobius sequence with autism and positive history of misoprostol use during pregnancy.  (+info)