Intramuscular administration of 15(s)-15-methyl prostaglandin F2 alpha for induction of labour in patients with fetal death.

Labour was induced with repeated intramuscular injections of 125 or 250 micrograms of a 15-methyl analogue of prostaglandin F2 alpha (15-me-PGF2 alpha) in 97 women harbouring a dead fetus for 1 to 42 days in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. The 24-hour cumulative expulsion rate was 93 per cent in 35 nulliparae and 95 per cent in 61 multiparae in whom labour was successfully induced. There was one failure in a parous patient. The median time interval between the first injection and delivery was significantly longer in nulliparae (10.4 hours) than in parous women (7.3 hours). There were no important differences in efficacy or side effects between the 125 and the 250 micrograms dosage scheme. No serious complications occurred, but gastrointestinal side effects were prominent. It is concluded that these side effects are compensated for by the simplicity, efficacy and safety of the procedure.