Can 400 μg vaginal Misoprostol be used as the cervical priming agent in menopausal women?

Abstract

Objective : To investigate the efficacy of 400 μg of vaginal misoprostol for cervical priming in menopausal women before fractional curettage.

Methods : A total of sixty menopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding were randomly assigned to receive either 400 μg of misoprostol or placebo vaginally 16 hours before fractional curettage. The main outcome measures were pre and post intervention- cervical width, other complications and side effects.

Results : Before intervention, mean cervical width in the misoprostol group (4.0 ± 1.2 mm.) did not statistically different from the mean cervical width in the placebo group (3.7 ± 1.7 mm.), P = 0.44. There was no statistical difference between the mean cervical widths after 16 hours of vaginal misoprostol (4.4 ± 1.4 mm.) and placebo (4.0 ± 0.7 mm.), P = 0.27. There was no severe side effects nor complications found in this study.

Conclusion : 400 μg vaginal misoprostol 16 hours prior to fractional curettage in menopausal women did not increase cervical width.

Key words : vaginal misoprostol, cervical priming, menopausal women