Rectal misoprostol for myomectomy: A randomised placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Uterine leiomyomas are the most common benign tumours in women. Misoprostol, which is widely used in the treatment and prevention of postpartum haemorrhage in obstetrics, may decrease intra-operative bleeding in abdominal myomectomies when haemorrhage constitutes a challenging problem.

AIMS: To assess the effect on intra-operative blood loss of using a single pre-operative dose of rectal misoprostol in abdominal myomectomy surgeries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 50 women undergoing abdominal myomectomy for symptomatic uterine leiomyomas were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of pre-operative of rectal 400 μg misoprostol (n = 25) or placebo (n = 25) 1 h before the operation. The primary outcome was intra-operative blood loss. This clinical trial was registered in clinicaltrial.gov registry with number: NCT02061657.

RESULTS: Intra-operative blood loss was significantly lower in those women randomised to receive rectal misoprostol versus the placebo group (574 ± 194.8 mL vs 874 ± 171.5 mL). Additionally, the drop in postoperative haemoglobin was significantly less in the misoprostol group (1.7 ± 0.4 g/dL) compared with the placebo group (2.1 ± 0.5 g/dL).

CONCLUSION: A single pre-operative dose of rectal misoprostol (400 μg) is a simple applicable method for reducing intra-operative blood loss and operative time in abdominal myomectomy.