Use of Mifepristone and Sublingual Misoprostol for Early Medical Abortion

The use of misoprostol in termination of second-trimester pregnancy

Misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin E1 analog, is initially used to prevent peptic ulcer. The initial US Food and Drug Administration-approved indication in the product labeling is the treatment and prevention of intestinal ulcer disease resulting from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use. In recent two decades, misoprostol has approved to be an effective agent for termination of pregnancy in various gestation, cervical ripening, labor induction in term pregnancy, and possible management of postpartum hemorrhage. For the termination of second-trimester pregnancy using the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol seems to have the highest efficacy and the shortest time interval of abortion. When mifepristone is not available, misoprostol alone is a good alternative. Misoprostol, 400 μg given vaginally every 3-6 hours, is probably the optimal regimen for second-trimester abortion. More than 800 μg of misoprostol is likely to have more side effects, especially diarrhea. Although misoprostol can be used in women with scarred uterus for termination of second-trimester pregnancy, it is recommended that women with a scarred uterus should receive lower doses and do not double the dose if there is no initial response. It is also important for us to recognize the associated teratogenic effects of misoprostol and thorough consultation before prescribing this medication to patients regarding these risks, especially when failure of abortion occurs, is needed.

Low dose Mifepristone (100 mg) for medical termination of pregnancy

Background: Abortion is the most common entity in the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology. Different methods and modes have been opted for until now to find an effective regimen with the least complications. We have tried the minimal dose (100 mg) of Mifepristone (PO) instead of the presently recommended 200 mg for medical abortion in early first trimester cases. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the efficacy of low dose (100 mg) Mifepristone for medical termination of early pregnancy with oral Misoprostol 800 μg, 24 hours later.Design: A prospective analytical study was conducted on a population of 82 early-pregnant patients who have requested medical abortions.Method: Pregnant women of less than 56 days gestation age from their last menstrual period, requesting medical abortion were selected over a period of 14 months from January 2007 to March 2008. They were given 100 mg Mifepristone orally on Day-1, followed by 800 μg Misoprostol orally 24 hours later on Day-2, keeping the patient in the ward for at least 6 hours. Abortion interval, success rate, post-abortion bleeding and side-effects were noted. Success was defined as complete uterine evacuation without the need for surgical intervention.Results: The total success rate of this minimal dose Mifepristone regimen was 96.25%. Pain and nausea were the predominant side-effects noted. In total 72 (90%) women had completely aborted within 5 hours of taking Misoprostol. Three (3.75%) women only required suction aspiration, hence termed as failed medical abortion. The abortion interval increased with the gestation age. All three failures were of the more-than-42-day gestational age group. The overall mean abortion interval was 4.68 ± 5.32 hours.Conclusion: Mifepristone 100 mg, followed 24 hours later by Misoprostol 800 μg orally, is a safe and effective regimen for medical abortion.