A controlled release form of 16,16-dimethyl-trans-delta 2-PGE, methyl ester for early abortion.

The termination of early pregnancy (less than 56 days amenorrhoea) has been investigated using 16,16-dimethyl-trans-delta 2-PGE, methyl ester in a controlled release preparation. The onset of crampy abdominal pain was seen after 270 +/- 39 minutes and bleeding occurred after 603 +/- 95 minutes. Two (15%) patients required no pain relief during treatment, however 5 (38%) requested oral analgesia, and in 6 (46%) individuals the pain was severe enough to warrant parenteral opiates. The overall success rate for complete abortion was 85%. No serious adverse effects were seen, but vomiting occurred in 2 (15%) women, and diarrhoea in 3 (23%). Although the use of this prostaglandin analogue in slow release form provides an effective treatment method for early abortion using a reduced total dose of prostaglandin, the acceptability of the drug as an agent for menstrual induction continues to be limited by the occurrence of troublesome gastro-intestinal side effects.