Endometrial Thickness and Serum β-hCG as Predictors of the Effectiveness of Oral Misoprostol in Early Pregnancy Failure

The MISOPRED score: Development and validation of a clinical scoring system to predict the effectiveness of Misoprostol treatment for early pregnancy loss

BACKGROUND

Misoprostol treatment for early pregnancy loss has varied success demonstrated in previous studies. Incorporating predictors in a single clinical scoring system would be highly beneficial in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE

To develop and evaluate the accuracy of a scoring system to predict misoprostol treatment outcomes for managing early pregnancy loss.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort and validation study.

METHODS

Patients discharged from the gynecologic emergency department from 2013 to 2016, diagnosed with early pregnancy loss, who were treated with 800 mcg misoprostol, administrated vaginally were included. All were sonographically reevaluated within 48-72 hours. Patients in whom the gestational sac was not expelled or with endometrial lining >30 mm were offered a repeat dose and returned for reevaluation after seven days. A successful response was defined as complete expulsion. Clinical data were reviewed to identify predictors for successful responses. The scoring system was then retrospectively evaluated on a second cohort to evaluate its accuracy. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify factors most predictive of treatment response.

RESULTS

The development cohort included 126 patients. Six factors were found to be most predictive of misoprostol treatment effectiveness: nulliparity, prior complete spontaneous abortion, gestational age, vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and mean sac diameter, yielding a score of 0-8 (the MISOPRED score), where 8 represents the highest-likelihood of success. The score was validated retrospectively with 119 participants. Successful response in the group with the lowest likelihood score (score 0-3) was 9%, compared with 82% in the highest likelihood score group (score 7-8). Using the MISOPRED score, approximately 15% of patients previously planned to receive misoprostol treatment can be referred for surgical management.

CONCLUSIONS

MISOPRED score can be utilized as an adjunct tool for clinical decision-making in cases of Early pregnancy loss. To our knowledge, this is the first scoring system suggested to predict the success rate in these cases.

[Evaluation of the success of medical abortion by a plasma hCG control threshold]

OBJECTIVES

In France, monitoring of the success of medical abortion is recommended 2 to 3 weeks after the procedure. However, there is no clear consensus on the modalities of this monitoring. The main objective of this study is to identify a threshold of serum hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) control for medical abortions ≤7 weeks of gestation below which success can be confirmed without recourse to pelvic ultrasound.

METHODS

This is a retrospective multicenter study conducted over a 14-month period. The serum hCG level, measured between the 15th and 25th day following the abortion, was compared with the results of the pelvic ultrasound performed at the follow-up visit. Ultrasound failure was defined as retention or persistent pregnancy.

RESULTS

Among the 624 women included, the failure rate was 22.3%, including 86.3% of retentions, 8.6% of pregnancies stopped and 5% of pregnancies progressed. Using a ROC curve, the threshold value of hCG found to exclude failure at 95% was 253 IU/l (AUC=0.9202, sensitivity=84.17%, specificity=85.95% and positive predictive value [PPV]=63%).

CONCLUSIONS

A serum hCG level ≤253 IU/l is sufficient to affirm the efficacy of medical abortion. However, since PPV is only 63% for this threshold, ultrasound should be reserved for women with high hCG levels.

Predictive value of peripheral blood α1-acid glycoprotein in medical abortion outcomes with mifepristone and relativity of concentration

OBJECTIVE

To illustrate the predictive value of peripheral blood α1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) in abortion outcomes with mifepristone and the relativity of concentration.

METHODS

A total of 134 patients who met the criteria were enrolled. The AAG and mifepristone concentrations were determined, and Student's t-test was used to assess significant differences in the levels of AAG between the complete and incomplete abortion groups.

RESULTS

The decrease in AAG concentration was associated with incomplete abortion, whereas the increase in AAG concentration was related to complete abortion (P < 0.01). In addition, the concentration of AAG was correlated with the concentration of mifepristone (r = 0.7375, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Our preliminary results suggest that AAG may serve as a biomarker for the prediction of incomplete abortions.

Misoprostol versus expectant management in women with incomplete first-trimester miscarriage after failed primary misoprostol treatment: A randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

To compare the effectiveness and safety of repeat misoprostol versus expectant management in women with first-trimester incomplete miscarriage who have been initially treated with misoprostol.

METHODS

The study was an open-labeled randomized controlled trial including women with an incomplete first-trimester miscarriage after administration of misoprostol. The participants were randomly assigned to vaginal misoprostol or expectant management using a computer-generated table of random numbers. The primary outcome was the number of women with a complete miscarriage at 1 week.

RESULTS

Eighty-eight women (44 women in each group) were analyzed. The rate of complete miscarriage at 1 week was significantly higher in the misoprostol group than the expectant management group-29 (69.0%) versus 7 (16.7%) (P < 0.001), respectively. Women in the misoprostol group were more satisfied (7.00 ± 0.77 vs 4.57 ± 1.61, P < 0.001) but reported more pain (7.95 ± 1.85 vs 5.26 ± 1.08, P < 0.001) than women in the expectant group. The misoprostol group reported more adverse effects than the expectant management group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

In women with an incomplete first-trimester miscarriage who were initially treated with misoprostol, repeat administration of misoprostol was more effective than expectant management for achieving complete miscarriage at 1 week. However, misoprostol was associated with more adverse effects.

REGISTRATION SITE AND NUMBER

Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03148561.

Diagnostic criteria for retained products of conception-A scoping review

Introduction

Numerous studies have been performed assessing optimal treatment regimens for evacuating (retained) products of conception from the uterus, but standardized criteria for diagnosing retained products of conception (RPOC) are still lacking. We aim to provide an overview of diagnostic criteria in current literature, used to diagnose RPOC after induced first‐trimester abortion or early pregnancy loss.

Material and methods

Pubmed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library were searched systematically up until March 2020 for English articles reporting on induced abortion or early pregnancy loss. Articles not specifying diagnostic criteria used to assess completeness of treatment were excluded, as were conference abstracts, expert opinions, reviews, and case reports. Four elements of diagnostic criteria were described: diagnostic tools, parameters used within these tools, applied cut‐off values, and timing of follow up. Additionally, a meta‐analysis was performed assessing diagnostic qualities of the most often applied diagnostic tool and parameter.

Results

The search strategy yielded 1233 unique articles, of which 248 were included, with a total of 339 517 participants. In the 79 included randomized controlled trials, six diagnostic tools to assess RPOC were identified, combined in 14 ways, with 55 different cut‐off values. In 169 observational studies, seven diagnostic tools were identified, used in 28 combinations, applying 89 different cut‐off values. Transvaginal ultrasonographic measurement of endometrial thickness with a cut‐off value of at least 15 mm indicating RPOC, was used most frequently. In the timing of follow‐up there was great variation, with 55 and 107 different combinations in randomized controlled trials and observational studies, respectively. Assessment of treatment success was scheduled most often around 2 weeks after treatment. Diagnostic qualities of endometrial thickness of 15 mm or more was not adequately assessed.

Conclusions

There is wide variation in the way RPOC are assessed, and the criteria used to define RPOC following induced abortion and early pregnancy loss; ultrasonographic measurement of endometrial thickness, with a cut‐off of 15 mm or more 2 weeks after primary treatment is the most widely used diagnostic approach. A meta‐analysis on diagnostic accuracy of endometrial thickness of 15 mm or more did not lead to solid results. These findings can be a first step to develop a workable standard of establishing RPOC after induced abortion or early pregnancy loss.

Misoprostol Abortion: Ultrasonography versus Beta-hCG Testing for Verification of Effectiveness

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Miscarriage is a common complication of early pregnancy with medical and psychological consequences. Dilation and Curettage are considered as two standard caring ways for early pregnancy failure. Alternatively misoprostol has been used as a single agent for termination of early pregnancy. Aim of the present study was to compare the usefulness of serum β-hCG measurement and ultrasound examination to predict complete abortion after medical induction.

METHODS

There were one hundred and thirty three patients experiencing missed abortion or blighted ovum. Ultrasound examination and serum β-hCG test were performed before treatment and during follow-up in all these patients.

RESULTS

Treatment was successful without any need for surgical intervention in 92.4% of the cases. Both methods could verify the complete abortion among all the patients at the end of the study (4(th) week). Kappa agreement coefficient for the two methods of diagnosis was 0.327 (P < 0.5).

CONCLUSION

Based on our results, β- hCG is as effective as ultrasound in confirming a successful medically induced abortion in early pregnancy, but it should be used as supplements to clinical assessments.

Serum angiopoietin-2 and β-hCG as predictors of prolonged uterine bleeding after medical abortion in the first trimester

OBJECTIVE

The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is an established method for induction of early first trimester abortion, but there is no consensus about the best evaluation of treatment outcome. We evaluate serum Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) and β human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) in women who had undergone a medical abortion as markers of prolonged uterine bleeding (PUB).

METHODS

Prospective trial involving 2843 women attending an gynecology outpatient clinic who following a medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol, the study cohort was divided into women with duration of uterine bleeding >14 days (PUB) and women with duration of uterine bleeding ≤14 days (normal uterine bleeding, NUB). Serum determinations of Ang-2 levels by ELISA and β-hCG levels by electrochemiluminiscence immunoassay. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analyses were calculated and plotted for the diagnostic accuracy of serum β-hCG and Ang-2 concentration to discriminate PUB and NUB.

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics for both groups were similar, Only duration of bleeding showed a significant difference between the PUB group and NUB group. Ang-2 serum levels moderately correlated with serum β-hCG levels with statistically significant correlation coefficients of 0.536. Serum β-hCG and Ang-2 levels on day 7 and on day 14 after medical abortion were signifcantly higher in PUB group than in NUB group. Plotted as ROC curves, β-hCG area under curve (AUC) was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.53-0.76) on day 7, rising to AUC = 0.83 (95% CI, 0.75-0.92) on day 14. Using Ang-2 on day 7 and day 14 as predictive parameter resulted in an analogous AUC (AUC = 0.61 on day 7, AUC = 0.78 on day 14).

CONCLUSIONS

Both parameters are clinically useful as a diagnostic test in predicting PUB after medical abortion, and can be helpful in uncertain clinical situations, but should be considered as supplementary to a general clinical evaluation.