Termination of early gestation with a single vaginal suppository of (15s)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F 2α methyl ester

Abstract

Abortion was induced in 20 women who were less than 49 days pregnant with a vaginal suppository containing 3.0 mg (15S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F 2α methyl ester. Peripheral serum levels of (15S)-15-methyl F 2α free acid, βhCG and progesterone were measured before, during the 10 hours after treatment and over the next 14 days. Eighteen of the subjects had a complete follow-up: ten were aborted (53%), three had incomplete abortions and five were failures. There was a correlation between serum levels of F 2α (15S)-15-methyl-prostaglandin F 2α free acid, and the incidence of success. Progesterone was significantly reduced in all three groups of subjects and, therefore, could not be utilized to judge the success of the procedure. A small but insignificant reduction of βhCG occurred in all subjects regardless of outcome during the ten-hour observation period. Since minor side effects of diarrhea and vomiting occurred in less than half of the aborted and only a few of the not aborted subjects, a larger amount of drug might improve the success rate.