Oral versus rectal route of misoprostol administration: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: to compare between the efficacy of oral versus rectal misoprostol in the treatment of incomplete abortion.
Design: prospective controlled trial. Patients were allocated to intervention using alternate sequence
Setting: Al-Hussein Hospital, Al-Azhar University
Materials and methods: one hundred women with retained products of conception were divided into two groups: G1: fifty women received misoprostol 200 μg misoprostol/4 hs rectally and G2; fifty women received it orally. Follow up and side effects were recorded
Results: There was no significant difference between both groups regarding their background characteristics, response to misoprostol, need to do D&C or side effects. the dose of 200ug misoprostol every 4 hours (orally and rectally) for a maximum of 3 doses was not only effective in complete evacuation but also had low incidence of side-effects especially vomiting diarrhea and bleeding
Conclusion: misoprostol whether by oral or rectal route seems to be an effective as a non invasive method for evacuation of the uterus in women with retained products of conception.