Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on December 17, 2004
Human Reproduction 2005 20(3):829-833; doi:10.1093/humrep/deh676
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
20/3/829    most recent
deh676v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chan, C.C.W.
Right arrow Articles by Ho, P.C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chan, C.C.W.
Right arrow Articles by Ho, P.C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction Vol. 20 No. 3 © The Author 2004; all rights reserved

Intracervical sodium nitroprusside versus vaginal misoprostol in first trimester surgical termination of pregnancy: a randomized double-blinded controlled trial

C.C.W. Chan1, O.S. Tang, E.H.Y. Ng, C.F. Li and P.C. Ho

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China. Email: cwcchan{at}graduate.hku.hk

BACKGROUND: Results from small-scale randomized studies on the effectiveness of different preparations of nitric oxide donors in cervical priming before first trimester termination of pregnancies are not consistent. We compared sodium nitroprusside gel to misoprostol, the standard agent for cervical priming in this randomized double-blinded controlled trial. METHODS: Two hundred pregnant patients between 8 to 12 weeks admitted for surgical termination of pregnancy were recruited. They were randomized into either 400 µg vaginal misoprostol and intracervical placebo gel, or 10 mg intracervical sodium nitroprusside gel and placebo tablets 3 h before the procedure. The baseline cervical dilatation and cumulative force required to dilate the cervix from 4 to 9 mm were measured with a tonometer. Blood pressure was measured and side effects were assessed. RESULTS: The cumulative force to dilate the cervix from 4 to 9 mm was significantly higher in the sodium nitroprusside group, and the difference remained when a sub-group analysis was performed according to parity. Baseline cervical dilatation, duration of operation and operative blood loss were all in favour of misoprostol. Transient drop in blood pressure was observed after sodium nitroprusside treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Intracervical sodium nitroprusside is not as effective as misoprostol in cervical priming.

Key words: misoprostol/nitric oxide donor/sodium nitroprusside/surgical termination of pregnancy


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.