Intra-vaginal misoprostol alone vs misoprostol in combination with intra-cervical foley’s catheter for second trimester abortion: a comparative study

Megha bandil, Neha Goyal*, Devesh Bandil

Gajara Raja medical college Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

Pregnancy termination in the second trimester is riskier than in the first. The primary objective is to create a more effective means of termination while also reducing induction time. To compare the efficacy, safety, and acceptability of intra-cervical foley's catheter with vaginal misoprostol versus vaginal misoprostol for second-trimester pregnancy termination. This clinical study involved 400 pregnant women who were scheduled to have their pregnancy terminated between 13 and 22 weeks of pregnancy for any reason. The enrolled women were divided into two categories: Category I (Misoprostol category): intra-cervical Foley’s catheter inserted with a standard regimen of moistened misoprostol tablets (400 g) 4 hourly inserted vaginally to a maximum of 5 doses; Category II (Combined category): intra-cervical Foley catheter inserted with a standard regimen of moistened misoprostol tablets (400 g) 4 hourly inserted vaginally to a maximum of 5 doses 4 hourly intra-vaginal injections were employed. Misoprostol was retained in the posterior fornix, and the dose was repeated every 4 hours until the catheter was removed, or until a maximum of five doses had been administered. The mean induction to abortion interval in the misoprostol category was 15.38 + 1.25 hours and 8.25 + 2.25 hours in the combination category, which was statistically significant (p= 0.001). The misoprostol category had a 94 percent success rate, while the combined category had a 97 percent success rate. The use of a combined intra-cervical foley's catheter and vaginal misoprostol to end a pregnancy in the second trimester is a novel, safe, effective, and acceptable procedure.

Keywords:

intra-cervical foley’s catheter, misoprostol, second trimester abortion