A clinical comparison of prostaglandin F2alpha and intra-amniotic saline for induction of midtrimester abortion.

The relative safety and effectiveness of hypertonic saline and intra-amniotic prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha), when used under clinical rather than research conditions, were evaluated for 100 patients aborted with a 20% saline solution, and 100 patients aborted with PGF2alpha (40 mg initially and an additional 20 mg if abortion had not occurred in 24 hours). While the overall risk of morbidity was similar for the two procedures, rates of incomplete abortion were higher with prostaglandin (51.0%) than with hypertonic saline (35.0%). The prostaglandin procedure, however, was associated with a significantly shorter median time from instillation to abortion of the fetus (25.3 versus 34.5 hours).