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Jill Durocher

Buccal Misoprostol for Treatment of Fetal Death at 14–28 Weeks of Pregnancy: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Published
March 13th, 2014
Type
Publication
Topic
Pregnancy Failure and Miscarriage
Authors
Bracken, H., Ngoc, N.T., Banks, E., Blumenthal, P.D., Derman, R.J., Patel, A., Gold, M., Winikoff, B., Buccal misoprostol for IUFD Research Group.

Contraception; 2014 Mar; 89(3):187-92; doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2013.11.014

Objective: To assess whether buccal misoprostol is effective for the treatment of intrauterine fetal death.

Study design: This double-blind randomized trial was conducted at five tertiary-level hospitals in the United States and Vietnam. One hundred fifty-three women with an intrauterine fetal death at 14-28 weeks of pregnancy received either 100 mcg buccal misoprostol or 200 mcg buccal misoprostol every 6 h for a maximum of 8 doses. The main outcome measure was the fetal-placental delivery rate within 48 hours of prostaglandin commencement without any additional intervention.

Results: Most of the women (140/153) were recruited at the study site in Vietnam. Expulsion of both fetus and placenta within 48 hours of prostaglandin commencement without any additional interventions occurred in 61.8% (47/76) of women receiving misoprostol 100 mcg and 77.9% (60/77) of women receiving misoprostol 200 mcg. The 200 mcg dose was significantly more effective than the 100 mcg dose at expelling the fetus and placenta within 48 h [RR 0.68 (95% CI: 0.50-0.92; p=.03)]. The mean time to expulsion was significantly shorter using the 200 mcg dose (18.5±11.9 h) than the 100 mcg dose (23.9±12.5 h) (p=.02). Most women in both groups found the procedure satisfactory or very satisfactory (100 mcg: 76.7% (56/73); 200 mcg: 89.5% (68/76) [RR 0.86 (95% CI: 0.74-1.00)].

Conclusion: Buccal misoprostol is an effective method for medical induction of labor after intrauterine fetal demise. A 200 mcg dose is significantly more effective than 100 mcg for evacuating the uterus within 48h. The treatment is highly acceptable to women.

Implications: Administration of 200 mcg buccal misoprostol every six hours is an effective and acceptable method to effect the delivery of a demised fetus at 14-28 weeks that can be feasibly implemented in a wide variety of settings.