Medical abortion at 64 to 91 days of gestation: a review of 483 consecutive cases.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the uptake and outcome of medical abortion in the late first trimester of pregnancy. We conducted a review of the cases of 483 consecutive women in a university hospital who underwent medical abortion at 64 to 91 days of gestation and who used mifepristone that was followed 36 to 48 hours later by repeated doses of misoprostol. A total of 891 abortions were carried out at 64 to 91 days of gestation from October 2000 to April 2002; of these, 483 cases (54.2%) were undertaken medically. Complete abortion occurred in 458 cases (94.8%). Efficacy decreased with advancing gestational age. Surgical evacuation was carried out in 1 woman (0.9%) at 9 to 10 weeks of gestation, in 8 women (5.3%) at 10 to 11 weeks of gestation, in 7 women (6.2%) at 11 to 12 weeks of gestation, and in 9 women (7.9%) at 12 to 13 weeks of gestation. Indications for surgery included ongoing pregnancy in 8 cases (1.7%), missed abortion in 3 cases (0.6%), incomplete abortion in 13 cases (2.7%), and emergency curettage for bleeding in 1 case (0.2%). The mean number of misoprostol doses used was 2.3; of those women who had a complete abortion, 152 women (32.6%) aborted within 4 hours of receiving the misoprostol. The mean induction to abortion interval was 5.5 hours; most cases (452; 93.6%) were treated as day cases. Medical abortion between 64 and 91 days of gestation is effective and has a high uptake. Consideration should be given to extending the availability and choice of medical abortion to women in this gestational group.