Sublingual misopristol: a possible route for induction of medical evacuation in early pregnancy loss

Misoprostol is effective for cervical priming prior to suction evacuation in first trimester pregnancy termination. The drug is increasingly used to treat women who have a failed pregnancy in the first trimester. However, little is known about the efficacy, safety and acceptability of the drug when used through the sublingual route. A sublingual misoprostol-alone regimen was used in 30 women for induction of medical evacuation for cases of early first trimester pregnancy loss [an embryonic pregnancy, missed abortion and incomplete abortion] up to 9 weeks gestation. The women included in the study were given 600-micro g misoprostol sublingually every 4h for 3 doses then every 6h for two doses [for a maximum of five doses]. The efficacy and acceptability of this regimen were studied. The overall complete evacuation rate was 80%. The complete evacuation rate for women with gestational age 7-9 weeks was 80.95% and that for women with a gestational age of