Factors affecting the outcome of early medical abortion: a review of 4132 consecutive cases.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcome of a regimen of a reduced dose of mifepristone followed by one or two doses of vaginal misoprostol as a non-surgical method for termination of pregnancy. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, Scotland. POPULATION: Women seeking abortion under the 1967 Abortion Act. METHODS: Factors influencing the outcome in a consecutive series of 4132 women undergoing early medical abortion in one Scottish teaching hospital since 1994. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Complete abortion rates following one or two doses of misoprostol. The effect of age, gestation, previous pregnancy and previous termination on complete abortion rates following the medical regimen. RESULTS: Of the 4132 women, 95 (2.3%) aborted within 48 hours of mifepristone and a further 3942 (95.4%) achieved complete abortion following administration of one or two doses of misoprostol. Thus, the overall complete abortion rate was 97.7% (4037/4131). A total of 94 (2.3%) women required surgical intervention of whom 13 (0.3%) had a continuing pregnancy. Following change of the regimen to include the possibility of two doses of misoprostol the continuing pregnancy rates were significantly reduced (OR = 5.88) and gestation ceased to have an effect on overall efficacy. Women who had a previous abortion were more likely to have a failed medical abortion (OR = 2.09), while women with no previous termination, but a previous live birth were more likely to have a failed abortion (OR = 2.03). CONCLUSION: Mifepristone in combination with one to two doses of vaginal misoprostol is an effective regimen for early medical abortion. The option of administering two doses of misoprostol significantly reduced the ongoing pregnancy rates and abolished the effect of gestation on overall efficacy. Previous termination was the strongest predictor of failed medical abortion.

A randomised study comparing a low dose of mifepristone and the Yuzpe regimen for emergency contraception.

OBJECTIVE: To compare 100 mg mifepristone with the standard Yuzpe regimen for emergency contraception. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Family Planning Clinic, Aberdeen. SAMPLE: One thousand women seeking emergency contraception within 72 hours after an episode of unprotected sexual intercourse. METHODS: Women were randomised to receive either 100 mg (half tablet) of mifepristone as a single dose or the Yuzpe regimen (two tablets each with 50 microg ethinyloestradiol and 0.25 mg levonorgestrel, to be repeated 12 hours later). OUTCOME MEASURES: Crude pregnancy rates, proportion of pregnancies prevented, side effects and patient acceptability. RESULTS: The crude pregnancy rates (95% CI) for the Yuzpe regimen and mifepristone were 3.6% (2.3-5.7) and 0.6% (0.2-1.8), respectively, with a significant difference between the two groups (RR 6.04; 95% CI 1.75-20.75). Mifepristone prevented 92% of pregnancies and the Yuzpe regimen preventing 56%. An increasing coitus to treatment interval was associated with contraceptive failure in the Yuzpe group (P = 0.03) with no association seen with mifepristone. Following administration of mifepristone 24.5% and 13.1% given the Yuzpe regimen had a delayed period (RR 2.14; 95% CI 1.46-3.15). Overall, mifepristone was better tolerated than the Yuzpe regimen with significantly fewer side effects. More women were satisfied (P < 0.0001) with mifepristone as an emergency contraceptive and would recommend it to a friend (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Mifepristone administered in a 100 mg dose is a highly effective post-coital contraceptive with high patient acceptability and fewer side effects compared with the standard Yuzpe regimen. Delay in the onset of menstruation did not decrease patient acceptability.

Medical management of late intrauterine death using a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of mifepristone in combination with misoprostol in the management of late fetal death. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Aberdeen. METHODS: A consecutive series of 96 women with intrauterine death after 24 weeks of gestation were studied. Each woman received a single dose of 200 mg mifepristone orally, following which a 24-48 hour interval was recommended before administration of misoprostol. For gestations of 24-34 weeks, 200 microg of intravaginal misoprostol was administered, followed by four oral doses of 200 microg at three hourly intervals. Gestations over 34 weeks were given a similar regimen but a reduced dose of 100 microg misoprostol. RESULTS: The average induction to delivery interval was 8.5 hours. Ninety-five women (98.9%) were delivered within 72 hours of administration of first dose of misoprostol, with 66.7%, 87.5%, 92.7% and 95.8% women delivering within 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours, respectively. No significant correlation was found between mean induction to delivery interval and maternal age, parity, Bishop's score, birthweight and mifepristone/ misoprostol interval. The induction to delivery interval was shorter with increasing gestation (P = 0.04). Mild side effects were noted in eight (8.3%) women. Three (3.1%) women had treatment for presumed or proven pelvic sepsis. No cases of uterine tachysystole, haemorrhage or coagulopathy were recorded. CONCLUSION: The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol for induction of labour following late fetal death is an effective and safe regimen. The induction to delivery interval with this regimen appears shorter than studies using mifepristone or misoprostol.

Medical management of early fetal demise using sublingual misoprostol.

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of mifepristone in combination with sublingual misoprostol for the medical management of early fetal demise. Fifty-six consecutive women were studied prospectively. The mean (SD) gestation at diagnosis was 9.6 weeks (1.84). Four women had complete miscarriage with mifepristone alone. The overall success rate was 83.9% and the median induction-miscarriage interval was 8.19 hours (range 0.83 to 37.50 hours). Of those women who had a successful outcome, 91.5% were satisfied with the regimen. Sublingual misoprostol in combination with mifepristone is an effective and safe alternative to vaginal or oral misoprostol in the management of early fetal demise.

Trends in maternal mortality and assessment of substandard care in a tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the trends in maternal mortality and factors affecting substandard care at a tertiary care hospital in a developing country. METHOD: All maternal deaths during a period of 11 years in a tertiary care hospital were studied. Maternal deaths were defined according to ICD-10. The principal cause and category of death, chief contributory factor, nature of care (standard or substandard), relationship to outcome and responsibility for substandard care (if any) were determined. RESULTS: Among the 133 maternal deaths, 92 (69%) were due to direct causes, 38 (29%) were indirect and 3 (2%) were accidental deaths. Genital tract sepsis (26%), hypertension in pregnancy (24%) and obstetric hemorrhage (20%) accounted for over 70% of deaths. In 79% of deaths, the care was substandard and in 73% of deaths substandard care was felt to have influenced the adverse outcome. Overall maternal mortality rate was 98.5 per 100,000 deliveries. An increasing but insignificant (P=0.08) trend in maternal mortality was noted after 1991. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of maternal deaths remain due to preventable and treatable obstetric complications. Maternal death enquiries of this nature facilitate identification of factors contributing to substandard care. It is important to ascertain that life threatening obstetric complications receive high quality emergency obstetric care at all levels.