Comparing Buccal and Vaginal Misoprostol in Management of Early Pregnancy Loss: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Detailed Summary

First trimester miscarriages are common. When the failed pregnancy does not pass spontaneously on its own, it is called a missed abortion. There are several ways in which missed abortions are managed, one of which involves administering a medication called misoprostol which causes uterine contractions inducing expulsion of the failed pregnancy. Misoprostol can be administered in multiple ways but has been traditionally inserted vaginally when used for management of missed abortions. Some studies have shown that some women are not comfortable with vaginal insertion of misoprostol and prefer oral administration. Buccal misoprostol is a way of administering misoprostol by having the patients insert the tablets of misoprostol between their gum and cheek, letting it dissolve for 30 minutes, then swallowing the remaining remnants. Buccal misoprostol is used safely in medical abortion. In fact a study by Fjerstad et al (2009), found a decrease in infection rate for medical abortion when misoprostol administration was switched from vaginal to buccal route combined with routine administration of doxycycline. The efficacy of using buccal misoprostol to treat missed abortions has not been studied previously to the investigators' knowledge. In this pilot study, investigators aim to test the hypotheses that buccal misoprostol is equally effective as vaginal misoprostol in the medical management of early pregnancy loss. As secondary outcomes, investigators suspect that buccal misoprostol may be associated with higher rates of gastrointestinal side effect but that patient satisfaction will remain equally as high for buccal misoprostol as for vaginal misoprostol.

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