Termination of pregnancy with intra-amniotic hypertonic saline

Successful therapeutic abortion was performed consecutively by an intra-amniotic injection of hypertonic saline in 102 out of 110 patients in whom the size of the uterus corresponded with a pregnancy of 16 weeks or more.A spontaneous abortion of the fetus followed the injection alone in 92 of the cases, and the overall injection-delivery interval was 39.75 (range 11-98) hours. In 10 women intravenous oxytocin injection was used as an additional uterine stimulant because contractions were not established after 48 hours. Complete spontaneous expulsion of the placenta occurred in 71 cases, and evacuation of the placenta under general anaesthesia was required in the other 31.No major complication occurred among the 110 patients.