Missed abortion treated with intramuscular 15-(S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F2 alpha

Repeated intramuscular injections of 15-(S)-15-methyl-PGF2 alpha were administered to 15 patients with a missed abortion. Fourteen (93,3%) aborted within 24 hours, with a mean induction abortion interval of 10 hours 54 minutes. The single failure occurred in a patient with a placenta accreta. The induction abortion interval was marginally shorter in patients at an early stage of gestation and was not affected by parity or the duration of fetal death. The average total dosage of 15-methyl-PGF2 alpha was 1250 micrograms (or 5 injections) per patient. The side-effects consisted of vomiting (71%), diarrhoea (71%), leucocytosis (64,3%) and transient pyrexia (21,5%), but these were not severe and were well tolerated by the patients.