[Pregnancy termination in the 2d and 3d trimester with prostaglandins depending on the cervix status]

Termination of pregnancy was performed in a standardized, on the cervical state depending manner in 48 patients with abortion between the 16th and 27th week of gestation and in 20 women with intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) between the 28th and 41st week of gestation. At a Bishop-Score (B.S.) less than 7 cervical ripening was induced by intracervical application of 0.1 mg sulprostone gel. In patients with a very unripe cervix (B.S. less than or equal to 3) local applications of prostaglandin gel were repeated at 6 hours intervals until a B.S. greater than or equal to 5 had been achieved. For induction of labour 0.5 mg sulproston was injected intramuscularly after at least one sulproston gel application in a range between B.S. greater than or equal to 5 to 7. At a B.S. 7 intravenous infusion of oxytocin was administered, if necessary, for augmentation of labour. Most of the patients received epidural anaesthesia before induction of labour. The time interval between the beginning of the procedure and expulsion of the fetus ranged from 6.5 to 49.5 hours (mean = 26.3 h) in the abortion group and from 2.0 to 46.0 hours (mean = 20.0 h) in the IUFD group. The median interval between induction of labour and abortion/delivery was 4.3 hours (range: 0.5-27.0), and 5.5 hours (range: 0.7-9.3 h) respectively. No surgical interventions were necessary in any of the patients, and no cervical lesions occurred. Undesired systemic side effects to prostaglandins were observed in only 4 out of the 68 cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)