Abstract
Background
Digoxin is commonly used to facilitate second-trimester surgical abortion despite
limited data regarding its safety and effectiveness for this indication. We conducted
a pilot study to determine the incidence of side effects after digoxin administration
and whether effectiveness can be improved with variations in dose and technique.
Study design
Fifty-two women presenting for elective termination of pregnancy between 18 and 24
weeks' gestation were randomized to one of four digoxin treatment groups: 1.0 mg intraamniotic
(1.0 IA), 1.0 mg intrafetal (1.0 IF), 1.5 mg intraamniotic (1.5 IA) or 1.5 mg intrafetal
(1.5 IF). Ultrasound was used to assess for the presence of fetal cardiac activity
prior to the abortion procedure. Data on the presence and severity of pain, nausea
and other potential side effects were collected before digoxin injection, immediately
following digoxin injection and on the day after digoxin injection.
Results
Digoxin effectively induced fetal death in 87% of women. The failure rate did not
vary by route of administration (IA or IF) and was not lowered by increasing the dose
from 1.0 to 1.5 mg. IF injections induced fetal death more rapidly than IA injections.
Digoxin administration did not result in increased pain or nausea.
Conclusions
IA or IF injection of digoxin is safe and effective for inducing fetal death prior
to second-trimester surgical abortion. Doses greater than 1.0 mg may not be necessary.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 27, 2009
Accepted:
August 27,
2009
Received in revised form:
August 27,
2009
Received:
October 20,
2008
Footnotes
���The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Corrigendum to “A randomized pilot study on the effectiveness and side-effect profiles of two doses of digoxin as fetocide when administered intraamniotically or intrafetally prior to second-trimester surgical abortion” [Contraception 81 (2010) 67–74]ContraceptionVol. 100Issue 6
- PreviewI writing to correct an error in the paper titled “A randomized pilot study on the effectiveness and side-effect profiles of two doses of digoxin as fetocide when administered intraamniotically or intrafetally prior to second-trimester surgical abortion”, published in Contraception Volume 81 (2010) 67–74, of which I am the lead author.
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