Hourly oral misoprostol administration for terminating midtrimester pregnancies: a pilot study

This pilot study retrospectively evaluated the outcomes of medical induction of termination of midtrimester pregnancies with hourly oral misoprostol administration.

Sixteen women with living fetuses, who had undergone pregnancy termination at 12-25 weeks of gestational age, were reviewed. The method of induction was hourly oral administration of misoprostol, given at doses of 200 μg/hr for the first 12 hours and 400 μg/hr after 12 hours until delivery. Data including the induction-to-delivery interval and total dosage of misoprostol were recorded and analyzed.

All 16 women successfully underwent vaginal termination within 36 hours. The median induction-to-delivery interval was 12.0 hours (range, 6.3-30.9 hours), with 13 women (81.3%) undergoing vaginal delivery within 24 hours. The median total dosage of misoprostol was 2,600 μg. The most common side effect was diarrhea, which was easily relieved by medication.

Our preliminary results show that oral administration of misoprostol at hourly intervals is a promising method for terminating midtrimester pregnancies.