Midtrimester and missed abortion treated with intramuscular 15 (s)-15 methyl PGF2alpha

Abortion was successfully induced in 79 of 80 patients in midtrimester, by the serial administration of 250 microgram of 15 (S)-15 methyl PGF2alpha intramuscularly every second hour until abortion occurred. All 12 patients with missed abortion and 87% of the legal abortion patients aborted within 24 hours. The average period until abortion occurred in the missed abortion group was 8.2 hours (+/- 4.5 SD), and in the legal abortion group 16.4 hours (+/- 7.3 SD). All the patients were given prophylactic treatment for vomiting, using prochlorperazine. The average number of episodes of vomiting was 2.8 per ptient. All but 3 patients were given loperamide or diphenoxylate for "diarrhoea". The average number of episodes of diarrhoea was 2.5 per patient. The frequency of complications was low apart from a case of low uterine rupture.