ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate medication abortion (MAB) outcomes for participants receiving intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injections or subdermal etonogestrel implants concurrently with mifepristone compared to those who did not in a real-world setting. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study included MAB patients from one Planned Parenthood health center in St. Paul, MN, between 2017-2019. We abstracted electronic health records and compared sociodemographic variables, clinical information, and treatment failure rates (primary outcome) between study groups with logistic regression (generating odds ratios [OR] and 95% confidence intervals [CI]). RESULTS: Among 7296 MAB participants, 224 (3.1%) received DMPA injections and 309 (4.2%) received etonogestrel implants concurrently with mifepristone; 141 (62.9%) and 200 (64.7%) completed follow-up respectively. From a random sample of 1000, 990 comparison participants met inclusion criteria; 704 (71.1%) completed follow-up. Fourteen (9.9%) DMPA participants (aOR 4.26, 95% CI 1.87-9.68, p<0.001) and 6 (3.0%) etonogestrel implant participants (aOR 1.38, 95% CI 0.48-3.55, p=0.522) required additional treatment to empty the uterus and/or had an ongoing pregnancy, each contrasted with 15 (2.1%) comparison patients (models adjusted for gestational duration, patient age, parity, and race). CONCLUSION: Although our study is limited by high rates of loss to follow-up, our analysis suggests that concurrent administration of DMPA with mifepristone may decrease MAB efficacy, while etonogestrel implant placement does not appear to alter MAB outcomes. These findings are overall consistent with prior literature and inform post-MAB contraception counseling. IMPLICATIONS: This retrospective cohort study reinforces prior randomized controlled trial findings that concurrent depot medroxyprogesterone acetate injection with mifepristone administration may decrease medication abortion efficacy. Conversely, concurrent etonogestrel contraceptive implant placement with mifepristone administration does not appear to decrease medication abortion efficacy. These findings inform post-abortion contraception counseling.
ABSTRACT
To evaluate the quality of Electronic Health Record (EHR) documentation practices of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) by medical providers. A retrospective chart review study of 99 patient encounter notes within the University of Minnesota health system (inclusive of 40 hospitals and clinics) was conducted. Extracted data included but was not limited to patient demographics, reason for patient visit, ICD code used in note, and provider description of FGC anatomy. Data was entered into REDCAP and categorized according to descriptive statistics. Out of 99 encounters, 45% used the unspecified code for FGC. The most common reason for patient visits was sexual pain, though many notes contained several reasons for the visit regarding reproductive, urological, or sexual concerns. 56% of visits discussed deinfibulation. 11 different terms for FGC were used, with "female circumcision" being the most common. 14 different terms for deinfibulation were found within 64 notes. 42% of encounters included a description of introitus size in the anatomical description, and only 38% of these provided a metric measurement. This study found significant variation in the quality of FGC documentation practices. Medical providers often used the unspecified FGC code, subjective and/or seemingly inaccurate descriptions of FGC/anatomy, and several different terms for both FGC and deinfibulation. Clearly, more education is needed in clinical training programs to (1) identify FGC type, (2) use the corresponding ICD code, and (3) use specific, objective descriptions (including presence/absence of structures and infibulation status).
