Cervical dilation from multiple laminaria tents used for abortion

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the cervical dilation achieved from multiple medium-thick laminaria tents used for 16-26 hours in single applications before abortion. METHODS: In a practice setting, cervical dilation was studied from all abortions done at greater than 8 weeks in which one or more medium-thick laminaria tents were used in a single application for 16-26 hours. Multiple regression analysis was used to quantify results. RESULTS: There was a positive linear regression of dilation against weeks of gestation for all numbers of tents. The more tents, the greater the dilation; the more weeks, the greater the dilation. CONCLUSION: Approximate cervical circumferential dilation from medium-thick laminaria tents under the constraints listed is provided by the formula: Pratt dilation = 12.36 + (2.35 x tents) + (1.79 x weeks).