Comparing Buccal and Vaginal Misoprostol in Management of Early Pregnancy Loss

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.

Timeline

Start

2014-08

Primary completion

2015-04

Completion

2016-06

Publications

• Background Aronsson A, Fiala C, Stephansson O, Granath F, Watzer B, Schweer H, Gemzell-Danielsson K. Pharmacokinetic profiles up to 12 h after administration of vaginal, sublingual and slow-release oral misoprostol. Hum Reprod. 2007 Jul;22(7):1912-8. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dem098. Epub 2007 May 8.
• Background Doubilet PM, Benson CB, Bourne T, Blaivas M; Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound Multispecialty Panel on Early First Trimester Diagnosis of Miscarriage and Exclusion of a Viable Intrauterine Pregnancy; Barnhart KT, Benacerraf BR, Brown DL, Filly RA, Fox JC, Goldstein SR, Kendall JL, Lyons EA, Porter MB, Pretorius DH, Timor-Tritsch IE. Diagnostic criteria for nonviable pregnancy early in the first trimester. N Engl J Med. 2013 Oct 10;369(15):1443-51. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1302417. No abstract available.
• Background Danielsson KG, Marions L, Rodriguez A, Spur BW, Wong PY, Bygdeman M. Comparison between oral and vaginal administration of misoprostol on uterine contractility. Obstet Gynecol. 1999 Feb;93(2):275-80. doi: 10.1016/s0029-7844(98)00436-0.
• Background Fjerstad M, Trussell J, Sivin I, Lichtenberg ES, Cullins V. Rates of serious infection after changes in regimens for medical abortion. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jul 9;361(2):145-51. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0809146.
• Background Jones RK, Kost K. Underreporting of induced and spontaneous abortion in the United States: an analysis of the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. Stud Fam Plann. 2007 Sep;38(3):187-97. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2007.00130.x.
• Background Herting RL, Clay GA. Overview of clinical safety with misoprostol. Dig Dis Sci. 1985 Nov;30(11 Suppl):185S-193S. doi: 10.1007/BF01309407.
• Background Meckstroth KR, Whitaker AK, Bertisch S, Goldberg AB, Darney PD. Misoprostol administered by epithelial routes: Drug absorption and uterine response. Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Sep;108(3 Pt 1):582-90. doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000230398.32794.9d.
• Background Middleton T, Schaff E, Fielding SL, Scahill M, Shannon C, Westheimer E, Wilkinson T, Winikoff B. Randomized trial of mifepristone and buccal or vaginal misoprostol for abortion through 56 days of last menstrual period. Contraception. 2005 Nov;72(5):328-32. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2005.05.017. Epub 2005 Aug 9.
• Background Tang OS, Gemzell-Danielsson K, Ho PC. Misoprostol: pharmacokinetic profiles, effects on the uterus and side-effects. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2007 Dec;99 Suppl 2:S160-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2007.09.004. Epub 2007 Oct 26.
• Background Saraiya M, Berg CJ, Shulman H, Green CA, Atrash HK. Estimates of the annual number of clinically recognized pregnancies in the United States, 1981-1991. Am J Epidemiol. 1999 Jun 1;149(11):1025-9. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009747.
• Background Schaff EA, DiCenzo R, Fielding SL. Comparison of misoprostol plasma concentrations following buccal and sublingual administration. Contraception. 2005 Jan;71(1):22-5. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2004.06.014.
• Background Schaff EA, Fielding SL, Westhoff C. Randomized trial of oral versus vaginal misoprostol at one day after mifepristone for early medical abortion. Contraception. 2001 Aug;64(2):81-5. doi: 10.1016/s0010-7824(01)00229-3.
• Background Sedgh G, Henshaw S, Singh S, Ahman E, Shah IH. Induced abortion: estimated rates and trends worldwide. Lancet. 2007 Oct 13;370(9595):1338-45. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61575-X.
• Background Wilcox AJ, Weinberg CR, O'Connor JF, Baird DD, Schlatterer JP, Canfield RE, Armstrong EG, Nisula BC. Incidence of early loss of pregnancy. N Engl J Med. 1988 Jul 28;319(4):189-94. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198807283190401.
• Background Winikoff B, Dzuba IG, Creinin MD, Crowden WA, Goldberg AB, Gonzales J, Howe M, Moskowitz J, Prine L, Shannon CS. Two distinct oral routes of misoprostol in mifepristone medical abortion: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Dec;112(6):1303-1310. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31818d8eb4.

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