[Levels of serum lipids during abortion induced by a hypertonic saline solution]

Studies were carried out on serum lipid levels in 30 women in good health who were pregnant for the first time with a pregnancy of between 15 and 20 weeks duration, who had the pregnancies terminated by the use of a hypertonic saline solution. They showed a rise only in the cholesterol level (5.83 mmol/l +/- 0.17) in the phase of actively aborting (a period of maximum stress) as compared with a level of cholesterol in the pre-abortion phase (4.93 mmol/l +/- 0.17). Between 12 and 15 hours after the termination the cholesterol level dropped sharply as did the levels of phospho-lipids and triglycerides. The levels became of the order of 4.1 mmol/l +/- 0.25, 2.73 mmol/l +/- 0.097 and 1.03 mmol/l +/- 0.06 respectively according to the phase the termination was in. The levels of serum lipids after the termination were, surprisingly, almost the same as those in non-pregnant women. The poor rise in serum lipids during termination induced by hypertonic saline solution shows that probably labour was of low intensity.