ABSTRACT
Termination of a pregnancy in second and third trimesters involving a dead foetus or one with a lethal anomaly is a challenge for health-care professionals in any setting. In addition to the theoretical concern of the dead foetus inutero causing disseminated intravascular coagulation, continuation of such a pregnancy may not be psychologically and socially acceptable to many women, and both the woman and the caretaker are keen to terminate the pregnancy, preferably without an incision on the uterus. Mid-trimester termination of pregnancy is one of the most controversial areas of gynaecological practice. It has moral, emotional, social and technical issues. There is continuous need for termination of pregnancy in second trimester, more recently due to increase in the use of antenatal diagnostic procedures. Nowadays, majority of mid-trimester abortions are carried out medically. The development of prostaglandin analogues has been a major breakthrough in abortion technology. Natural prostaglandins such as PGE1, PGF2a, PGE2, PG analogues like 15-methyl PGF2a have been used by various routes such as intravenous, intramuscular, intra/extra amniotic, oral and vaginal. Ethacridine lactate works by producing prostaglandin from deciduas, whereas misoprostol being synthetic analogue of misoprostol is supposed to act directly. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the extra-amniotic instillation of ethacridine with vaginal misoprostol in comparison to extra-amniotic instillation of ethacridine lactate with oxytocin IV infusion in terminations of second and third trimester pregnanciesin a tertiary referral hospital catering for both rural and urban population. This study concludes that ethacridine lactate with misoprostol is as efficacious as ethacridineplus oxytocinin termination of second and third trimesters anamolus/IUD foetuses. Though there is no significant difference in efficacy between the two. The ethacridineplus misoprostol is slightly effective in reducing the I-A interval. The efficacy of ethacridine plus misoprostol is slightly higher in early second trimester and ethacridine plus oxytocin is effective in the third trimester.