In Canada—

• Abortifacient
• Diagnostic aid, angiography
• Uterine stimulant

Dinoprost (DYE-noe-prost) is used to cause abortion during the second trimester of pregnancy. It may also be used for other purposes as determined by your doctor.

Dinoprost is to be administered only by or under the immediate care of your doctor. It is available in the following dosage form:

Parenteral
• Injection (Canada)

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For dinoprost, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to dinoprost or other oxytocics (medicines that stimulate the uterus to contract). Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your doctor if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

• Anemia (history of)—In some patients, abortion with dinoprost may result in loss of blood that may require a transfusion

• Asthma (or history of) or
• Lung disease—Dinoprost may cause narrowing of the blood vessels in the lungs or narrowing of the lung passages

• Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes) (history of)

• Epilepsy (or history of)—Rarely, dinoprost has been reported to cause seizures in patients who have epilepsy

• Fibroid tumors of the uterus or
• Uterus surgery (history of)—There is an increased risk of rupture of the uterus

• Glaucoma—Rarely the pressure within the eye has increased and constriction of the pupils has occurred during the use of dinoprost

• Heart or blood vessel disease (or history of) or
• High blood pressure (history of) or
• Low blood pressure (history of)—Dinoprost may cause changes in heart function or blood pressure changes

• Jaundice (history of)

• Kidney disease (or history of)

• Liver disease (or history of)—The body may not get dinoprost out of the bloodstream at the usual rate, which may make the medicine work longer or cause toxic effects

Dosing—

The dose of dinoprost will be different for different patients. Your doctor will give you the dose of this medicine and follow your care in a hospital or another health care setting.

• For injection dosage form:
  • For aborting a pregnancy:
    • Adults—Your doctor will slowly inject 40 milligrams (mg) into the amniotic sac (bag that surrounds the fetus). If needed, your doctor may give you another dose in twenty–four hours to complete the abortion.
  • For inducing labor:
    • Adults—Your doctor will slowly inject 1 to 4 mg a day into a vein.

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Tell the health care professional immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

• Less common or rare
  • Chest pain;  coughing (sudden);  cramping of the uterus (continuing and severe);  fast heartbeat;  hives;  numbness in legs or other body parts;  pale, cool, or blotchy skin on arms or legs;  pressing or painful feeling in chest;  redness and itching of skin;  shortness of breath;  slow or irregular heartbeat;  swelling of eyelids, face, or inside of nose;  tightness in chest;  trouble in breathing;  weak or absent pulse in arms or legs;  wheezing 
  
  

Also, check with the health care professional as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

• Less common or rare
  • Abdominal or stomach pain (severe or continuing);  blood in urine;  constipation;  decreased frequency of urination;  difficult or painful urination;  double vision or burning eyes ;  pain in legs, back, or shoulder;  tender or mildly bloated abdomen 
  
  

Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects usually go away after the medicine is stopped. However, let the health care professional know if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

• More common
  • Diarrhea;  nausea;  stomach cramps or pain;  vomiting 
  
  

• Less common
  • Anxiety;  breast fullness or tenderness ;  burning feeling in breasts;  chills or shivering;  cough (continuing);  dizziness;  drowsiness;  fever (temporary);  flushing or redness of face;  headache;  hiccups ;  increased sweating;  inflammation and pain at place of injection;  unusual thirst 
  
  

After the procedure has been completed, this procedure may still produce some side effects that need medical attention. Check with your doctor if you notice any of the following side effects:

• Chills or shivering (continuing);  fever (continuing);  foul-smelling vaginal discharge;  pain in lower abdomen;  unusual increase in uterus bleeding 

Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your health care professional.

Once a medicine has been approved for marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also useful for other medical problems. Although these uses are not specifically included in product labeling, dinoprost is used in certain patients for the following medical procedures:

• Angiography (x-ray pictures of the blood vessels)
• Inducing labor

Other than the above information, there is no additional information relating to proper use, precautions, or side effects for these uses.