[Rectal misoprostol for postpartum hemorrhage]

To evaluate a post-partum hemorrhage treatment guideline, using rectally administered misoprostol.

A descriptive study was carried out in a tertiary referral center from January 2002 to March 2003. During this period, 2670 patients delivered and 41 (1.5%) with severe post-partum hemorrhage unresponsive to oxytocin received 1000 microg of misoprostol (five tablets) rectally while awaiting sulprostone. Twenty-eight had delivered by the vaginal route and 13 by cesarean section.

Hemorrhage was controlled among 63% (26/41) of the patients within 10 min of the administration of rectal misoprostol. Fifteen (37%) patients received both misoprostol and sulprostone and no major adverse effects were noted when combining these two prostaglandins. Overall, hemorrhage was controlled among 87% (36/41) of the patients when oxytocics were combined with misoprostol and sulprostone. Five patients (12%) did not respond to the combination of uterotonics and required a conservative surgical treatment.

Rectal misoprostol may be an effective second line treatment for the management of post-partum hemorrhage unresponsive to oxytocin. We did not observe major side effects when combining misoprostol with sulprostone. Our findings encourage further research on rectal misoprostol in the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage.