Assessment of pain after elective abortion relating to the use of misoprostol for dilatation of the cervix.

Objective: Our objective was to compare the use of misoprostol to that of laminaria tents for dilatation of the cervix before a surgical elective abortion (EAB) during the first trimester, with regard to the pain caused (1) during insertion, for both methods, (2) immediately before the EAB, and (3) one hour after the procedure.

Methods: One hundred two women were recruited at Clinique de planification des naissances du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec, CHUL pavilion, between March 1, 2006 and March 1, 2007, for a tracking study. Fifty-three women were given 400 microg of misoprostol intravaginally, three to four hours before the EAB, and a laminaria tent was inserted in 49 women, 16 to 24 hours before the EAB.