Second-Trimester Pregnancy Interruption with Vaginal Misoprostol in Women with Previous Cesarean Section
Saipin Pongsatha MD*, Theera Tongsong MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai
Objective : To describe the experience of misoprostol use for pregnancy interruption in the second trimester of
women with previous cesarean section
Materials and Methods : Seventeen pregnant women with viable fetuses and with previous cesarean section
indicated for second trimester pregnancy interruption attending Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital were
recruited. All received the same regimen of 400 mcg intravaginal misoprostol every 6 hours. The data was
analyzed for demographic characteristics, the adverse outcomes, success rate, and time interval to fetal
expulsion.
Results : The incidences of adverse outcomes were as follows, fever (47.1%), chill (23.5%), and nausea (17.6%).
No uterine rupture occurred in this series at all. The rate of oxytocin use and analgesia requirement was
29.4%. Success rate of pregnancy interruption was 100%, though two of them had an abortion time of more
than 48 hours. Time interval from misoprostol administration to fetal expulsion was 25.9 + 34.1 hours (range
4.0-142.7 hours).
Conclusion : This case series reaffirms the efficacy of misoprostol and suggests that misoprostol may relatively
be safe even in cases with previous cesarean section. Therefore, misoprostol may be an option of pregnancy
interruption in the second trimester to avoid unnecessary surgical procedure including hysterotomy. How-
ever, the safety should be tested by further studies with a larger sample size.
Keywords : Misoprostol, Second–trimester pregnancy interruption, Previous cesarean section
