Comparing the Effectiveness of Intravenous Oxytocin Versus Rectal Misoprostol in the Management of Third-Stage of Labour After Second-Trimester Abortion

To compare the efficacy of intravenous oxytocin versus rectal misoprostol in the management of the third stage of labor during pregnancy termination.
In this randomized clinical trial, 100 pregnant women in active phase of labor and similar gestational age who had the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned into two groups of 50 patients each, for oxytocin (group 1) and misoprostol (group 2). Forty units of intravenous oxytocin was used as the standard regimen in the intervention group and compared with 400 μg rectal misoprostol in the control group. Necessary outcomes were analyzed by statistical methods in SPP 20.
The frequency of retained placenta in the misoprostol group with 4 patients (8%) was less than the oxytocin group with 8 cases (16%), but not statistically significant. Decreasing hemoglobin concentration in the misoprostol group (0.54 mg/dL) was significantly lower than oxytocin group (0.8 mg/dL; P = 0.001).
Results showed that using misoprostol in the third stage of labor in second-trimester abortions could reach a better outcome, regarding lower risks of hemorrhage and frequency of retained products of conception as compared to oxytocin.