Efficacy of second-trimester termination procedure; Medical, mechanic, or combine?

Abstract

Objectives: During mid-trimester, it is necessary to terminate pregnancy due to some fetal anomalies and intrauterine death. Therefore, inthis study, we aimed to compare abortion induction methods and combined use retrospectively. Methods: About 112 out of 223 pregnant patientswere included in the study. The groups were determined as follows: Group 1 including pregnant patients who were administered misoprostol only(50 patients), Group 2 including pregnant patients who were administered single dose misoprostol (according to FIGO) and subsequently receivedcervical Foley catheter (30 patients), and Group 3 including pregnant patients who received Foley catheter only (32 patients). These three groupswere compared in terms of effectiveness of the method, side effects, and complications as well as their characteristics. Results: In terms of characteristicof the groups, the average age of the women in the Group 1 was significantly higher than other two groups (p < 0.001). In terms of effectiveness of themethod, the termination period in Groups 1 and 2 was significantly lower than Group 3 (p < 0.001). However, in terms of complications, it wasobserved that uterine rupture was developed in Group 1. Conclusions: Although medical methods may seem to be more effective in the process oftermination, mechanical methods seem more reliable in terms of reliability. Especially combined methods can be used to increase effectiveness andalso to reduce complications.