In 40 mid-trimester abortion seekers, in whom abortion was induced by extra-amniotic normal saline or Emcredil, microbiological studies were carried out before induction and at 24 hours. It was observed that there was no difference in the isolation of organisms from vagina and cervix of these subjects between 0 hours and 24 hours. Thus, this study shows that leaving the catheter in the extra-amniotic space until it is expelled spontaneously does not increase the risk of ascending infection. At the same time, leaving the catheter in-situ until it is expelled spontaneously reduces the induction-abortion interval appreciably.
PIP: This study examined the microbiological flora before the insertion of a catheter into the extra-amniotic space for induction of mid-trimester abortion. A total of 40 subjects were included in the study. Subjects were divided into two groups. In the first group, abortion was induced by extra-amniotic instillation of 150 ml of 0.1% Emcredil, while group II was given 150 ml of normal saline. A success rate of 90% was reported in both study groups with no complications. The mean induction-to-abortion interval was 18.43 hours in Group I and 18.53 hours in Group II. The interval between expulsion of the catheter and the products of conception ranged from 15 minutes to 4 hours (average, 1 hour). Mycoplasma was found in 20% and 25% of subjects in Group I and Group II, respectively. In both study groups, about 70-75% of subjects showed presence of ureaplasma. It was concluded that there were no significant differences in the genital tract flora. In addition, there is no increase in risk of infection if the catheter is left in-situ until expelled spontaneously.