The use of misoprostol before hysteroscopic surgery in non-pregnant premenopausal women: a randomized comparison of sublingual, oral and vaginal administrations

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of misoprostol administered orally, vaginally, or sublingually on cervical ripening before hysteroscopic surgery in premenopausal non-pregnant women. METHODS Non-pregnant premenopausal women scheduled for operative hysteroscopy (with a 10-mm hysteroscope) were assigned by computerized randomization to receive 400 mg of misoprostol, administered either orally or vaginally 6–8 h prior to surgery or 400 mg sublingually 2–4 h prior to surgery. The primary outcome in this study was the preoperative cervical width as measured by the largest number of Hegar dilators. The time to Hegar number 10 was also recorded along with side effects related to misoprostol and complications during surgery for each group. RESULTS Patients were randomized to receive sublingual (n = 47), oral (n = 47) or vaginal (n = 47) misoprostol. The three groups were comparable in terms of age, BMI (body mass index), parity, gravidity, history of vaginal delivery, post-operative pathological findings and surgeon type. The preoperative cervical width [sublingual: 7.5 ± 2.0 mm (8, 3–10); oral: 7.5 ± 1.9 mm (7, 4–10); vaginal: 7.6 ± 2.4 mm (8, 1–10)] was statistically similar among the groups. The time to Hegar number 10, side effects and complications during the hysteroscopy were comparable among the three groups. CONCLUSION A limitation of this study was that the surgeons, but not the patients, were blinded to the test procedures. Nevertheless we found that sublingual, oral and vaginal misoprostol were equally effective for cervical priming before hysteroscopic surgery in premenopausal non-pregnant women. The trial was registered under ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01024270.