Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of 6 different misoprostol-alone regimens for abortion. Different doses and routes of administration were evaluated to identify regimens for larger scale studies. Women in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Pune, India, seeking abortion with pregnancies of 56 days or less were recruited. In the first two phases, women were randomized to one of 3 or 2 regimens; in the final phase all women received the same regimen to validate results from a separate study.
Results: Regimens evaluated and preliminary success rates are shown below. Success is defined as no surgical intervention of any kind. Women found the misoprostol-alone regimens acceptable, and side effects in all groups were tolerable. Enrollment in phase III will continue until 50 patients have completed the study.
Regimen Preliminary success Phase I 400 mg oral X3 q 3hr 40% (14/35) 800 mg oral X2 q 2hr 48% (11/23) 600 mg vaginal stat 49% (19/39) Phase II 800 mg oral X2 q 6hr 57% (20/35) 800 mg vaginal stat 60% (15/25) Phase III 800 mg vaginal X2 q 24hr (wetting tablets) 78.7% (26/33) (ongoing)
Conclusion: The regimen in phase III shows promise for larger scale testing. Preliminary results in this phase corroborate findings of other researchers. Misoprostol is appealing for medical abortion because it is inexpensive, easy to administer and store and is widely available. Identifying a successful regimen of misoprostol alone for medical abortion could help reduce the significant mortality and morbidity due to unsafe abortion world wide.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Abortion,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.