A Study of Intravaginal Misoprostol for Induction of Labor in Toxemia of Pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: To compare the efficacy and complications of intravaginal misoprostol for induction of labor in patients with and without toxemia of pregnancy. Methods: Forty-two patients with toxemia of pregnancy (group 1) and 59 women at term without toxemia (group 2) with Bishop scores of less than or equal to 6 were treated with 50 mug intravaginal misoprostol given four times at 4-h intervals. Labor and neonatal outcomes, and any complications, were recorded. Mann-Whitney U-, Student's t- and chi (2)-tests were used for statistical analyses. P less than or equal to 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The rates of vaginal delivery were 73.8% and 84.6%, oxytocin augmentation were 4.8% and 5.1% and the mean insertion to delivery times were 12.5 and 13.8 h in group 1 and 2, respectively, with no significant differences between the groups. Neonatal outcomes, rates of uterine contraction abnormalities and gastrointestinal symptoms were similar in both groups. Conclusions: Intravaginal misoprostol is an equally effective and safe method of induction of labor in patients with toxemia of pregnancy and in normal pregnant women. (C) 2001 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. All rights reserved.