The Comparison of Misoprostol and Dinoprostone for Termination of Second Trimester Pregnancy

To assess the effectiveness of prostaglandin E1 analog, misoprostol, compared with a prostaglandin E2 analog, dinoprostone in termination of pregnancies in second trimester complicated by intrauterine fetal death. This clinical trial was performed on 40 pregnant women between 15 and 28 weeks which were terminated due to intrauterine fetal demise. In group 1 (n = 20) 400 μg vaginal misoprostol and in group 2 (n = 20) 0.5 mg vaginal dinoprostone gel were given for termination of the pregnancies. Two groups were evaluated for demographic characteristics. Time from administration of drug to delivery was recorded in all patients. Side effects, operative removal of the placenta, amount of blood loss and the mean dose of oxytocin using in each group were recorded in two groups. The time interval between the first administration to delivery was 13.2 h for vaginal misoprostol and 15.1 h for vaginal dinoprostone group and there was no significant differences between groups. All of cases aborted within 24 h. No major complication was seen in patients of two groups. Also there was no significant differences in amount of blood loss, operative removal of the placenta. The mean dose of oxytocin used in dinoprostone group was higher than the other group (p = 0.01). The effectiveness of misoprostol for termination of second trimester pregnancy is comparable to that of dinoprostone. The major advantage of misoprostol was cost.