[Termination of pregnancy and evacuation of the uterine contents in the second trimester. Use of a prostaglandin E2 analog: sulprostone].

The authors used sulprostone on 165 women whose pregnancies had lasted more than 12 weeks. The principal indications were: intra-uterine fetal deaths in 65 cases and an antenatal diagnosis of fetal malformations in 75 cases. Three routes of administration of the drug were employed: extra-amniotic in 15 women; intravenous in 62 women; intramuscular in 88 women. The doses used (adding together the intramuscular and intravenous routes) were: ampoule of 500 micrograms of sulprostone in 25% of cases; ampoules in 50% of cases; ampoules in 25% of cases. It was found to be very effective: by the intravenous route 88.70% expelled the fetus in 24 hours with a mean induction delivery time of 11 hours; by the intramuscular route 89.77% expelled in 24 hours with a mean induction delivery time of 11 hours 45 minutes. The side effects were not common: nausea in 17.6%; vomiting in 16.4% and diarrhoea in 6%. Ther marked effectiveness of sulprostone on the one hand and the good tolerance on the other indicate the effects of this product, which are a strong action on the uterus and a feeble action on the smooth muscle of other organs.