Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in maternal serum (MS) and amniotic fluid (AF) at term and assess misoprostol induced changes in their mean concentrations.
Methods: A total of 53 pregnant women were included in the study: 24 were in active labor, and a further 29 were not in labor and misoprostol induction was performed. The initial 3 mL of amniotic fluid was collected and processed. In all pregnant subjects, maternal blood samples were obtained from the cubital vein at the time of amniotic fluid sampling. The concentration of ECP in serum and AF was measured by chemiluminescence method with the immulite 2000 analyzer (Immulite2000® ECP, DPC Diagnostic Products Corporation 5700 West 96th Street Los Angeles, CA, USA).
Results: Misoprostol induced pregnant showed significantly higher concentrations ECP than the control pregnant women in serum. AF-ECP concentrations were not significantly different between two groups. There was no significant difference between MS and AF-ECP concentrations in control subjects.
Conclusion: The association we encountered between labor induction with misoprostol and increased systemic production of ECP should be investigated further.

Key words: Misoprostol; Amniotic fluid; Serum; Cervical ripening