Danger of Hypertonic-Saline-Induced Abortion

To the Editor:—  In recent years attention has been focused on hypertonic-saline-induced abortion at midpregnancy. This method was originally reported by the Rumanian obstetrician, Aburel, in 1939. Since its advocation by Scandinavian physicians, this method has gradually gained popularity in several countries, including the United States and Great Britain. The crux of the idea is the intrauterine application of hypertonic saline. Delivery can be terminated in one or two days.This method unfortunately has many drawbacks and may be dangerous for the mother. It is recognized that the use of this method results in the death of the fetus during treatment, thus its use for term cases cannot be considered. Its ill effects to the mother are crucial, and various severe complications^1-4 and maternal deaths^5-8 have been reported in recent years. Inadvertent direct injection or rapid absorption of the solution through the highly developed vascularity of the uterus