Tehran University Medical Journal

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Background: To compare the success rate and side effects of letrozole and misoprostol versus misoprostol alone for medical termination of early pregnancy. Methods: The patients requesting termination of pregnancy up to 63 days of gestation were randomized into two groups. The letrozole group received letrozole 10 mg daily for 3 days followed by 800 micrograms of vaginal misoprostol, while the placebo group received placebo for 3 days followed by the same dosage of misoprostol. The complete abortion rate and the side effects profiles of the two groups were compared. The primary outcome measure was the abortion rate. Results: A total of 214 women were recruited. Overal complete abortion rate was 81.3%, complete abortion rate in the letrozole group was not significantly higher than that of the placebo group (84.1% compared 78.5%). After receiving 800 mcg misoprostol, 37 case (17.3%) had complete abortion that 13 cases (12%) of the misoprostol group and 24 patients (22.5%) of the cominabtion group and after receiving 1600 mcg, misoprostol, in 137 cases (77.4%) had complete abortion that 71 patients (75.5%) of the misoprostol group and 66 cases (79.5%) was obtained for the combination group. This difference was not statistically significant (P> 0.05). D & C in 40 cases (18.7%) reported that was not significantly different in the two groups, 17 cases (15.9 %) in the combination group versus 23 (21.5%) in the misoprostol group. Side effects such as fever, tachycardia, diarrhea and pain were similar in the two groups there were not significantly fewer women complaining of side effects in the letrozole group than those in the placebo group (P> 0.05). Conclusion: Combination of letrozole and misoprostol is as effective as misoprostol alone in complete abortion rate. Based on these results, the use of misoprostol in combination with letrozole is safe and not expensive.