Vaginal misoprostol for second-trimester pregnancy termination after one previous cesarean delivery

To determine the safety and efficacy of using misoprostol vaginally for second-trimester abortion in women with a single previous cesarean delivery.

This prospective observational study was carried out at a university hospital in Egypt with 50 pregnant women with 1 previous cesarean delivery; a gestation of at least 16 weeks but less than 20 weeks (group 1) or 20 or more weeks (group 2); and a need to terminate the pregnancy. The regimen was 4 doses of 200 microg of misoprostol applied vaginally every 4 hours daily, with a 12-hour nightly rest from misoprostol applications, until contractions appeared but not for more than 72 hours. The primary outcome was the induction-to-abortion interval.

There were no cases of uterine rupture. Abortion within the study protocol occurred in 45 of the 50 women, for a 90% success rate. There was no significant difference in the induction-to-abortion interval between the 2 groups.

Inducing abortion with lower misoprostol doses appear to be safe and effective throughout the second trimester in women with a single previous cesarean delivery. Larger randomized trials are needed to validate these results.