Dilatation of the cervix by oral PGE2 before first-trimester termination of pregnancy

Intracervical administration of prostaglandin E2-gel prior to therapeutic abortion: a prospective randomized double-blind study

Forty primigravid women due to undergo first trimester termination of pregnancy were randomly selected for intracervical application of 1 mg prostaglandin E2 in gel or gel only as placebo. In the PGE2-gel group, a marked dilatation of the cervical canal was obtained, with post-gel treatment mean Hegar dilatation of 11.18 mm in that group, compared to 4.4 mm in the control group (P 0.001). Moreover, 16 (80%) patients in the PGE2-gel group had a complete abortion, one (5%) patient had an incomplete abortion and in the remaining three (15%) patients, fetal demise was observed. The mean induction-abortion interval in this group was 7.5 h. In the placebo group, none of the above effects were observed. The only side effect noted was vomiting, which occurred in five (25%) of the patients in the PGE2-gel group. Termination of pregnancy was found to be easier in the PGE2-gel group, compared to the placebo group.

Cervical dilatation with meteneprost vaginal suppositories in first trimester abortion

Forty nulliparous women were treated with vaginal suppositories containing Meteneprost (9-deoxo-16, 16-dimethyl-9-methylene PGE2) (Upjohn Co.) 10 mg or placebo prior to termination of first trimester pregnancy in a double-blind study. The suppository was inserted three hours before vacuum aspiration. The cervical diameter as measured by the size of the largest Hegar dilatator inserted without resistance was significantly larger in women treated with Meteneprost. The operative blood loss was also reduced in the Meteneprost group.