. 2009 Spring;18(2):48–51. doi: 10.1624/105812409X426332

TABLE 1.

What the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Cochrane Collaboration Say About the Use of Cytotec for Induction

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee Opinion	Cochrane Collaboration Opinion
Given the current evidence, intravaginal misoprostol tablets appear to be effective in inducing labor in pregnant women who have unfavorable cervices. The use of higher doses (50mcg every 6 hours) may be appropriate in some situations, although increasing the dose appears to be associated most closely with uterine tachysystole and possibly with uterine hyperstimulation and meconium staining of amniotic fluid. Further prospective trials are required to define an optimal dosing regimen for misoprostol. (ACOG, 2006, p. 102)	As for vaginal misoprostol, insufficient data have been produced to evaluate the safety of this approach. Thus, though misoprostol shows promise as a highly effective, inexpensive, and convenient agent for labor induction, it cannot be recommended for routine use at this stage. It is also not registered for such use in many countries. (Enkin et al., 2000, p. 394)

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee Opinion

Cochrane Collaboration Opinion

Given the current evidence, intravaginal misoprostol tablets appear to be effective in inducing labor in pregnant women who have unfavorable cervices. The use of higher doses (50mcg every 6 hours) may be appropriate in some situations, although increasing the dose appears to be associated most closely with uterine tachysystole and possibly with uterine hyperstimulation and meconium staining of amniotic fluid. Further prospective trials are required to define an optimal dosing regimen for misoprostol. (ACOG, 2006, p. 102)

As for vaginal misoprostol, insufficient data have been produced to evaluate the safety of this approach. Thus, though misoprostol shows promise as a highly effective, inexpensive, and convenient agent for labor induction, it cannot be recommended for routine use at this stage. It is also not registered for such use in many countries. (Enkin et al., 2000, p. 394)