Efficacy and acceptability of a mifepristone-misoprostol combined regimen for early induced abortion among women in Mexico City

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the experience of women receiving mifepristone-misoprostol for early induced abortion in public sector facilities in the Federal District of Mexico City.

Methods: An open-label prospective study was conducted with 1000 pregnant women who sought induced abortion with a pregnancy of up to 63days of gestation, as measured from the date of their last menstrual period. The study was conducted in three public sector healthcare facilities: two secondary level hospitals and one primary care clinic. Women ingested 200mg mifepristone on day 1, followed by 800μg buccal misoprostol 24hours later, and they returned for follow-up on day 8. The primary outcome was complete abortion without recourse to surgical intervention.

Results: A total of 971 women received mifepristone-misoprostol and were included in the analysis for efficacy of treatment. The overall efficacy of the combined medical abortion regimen studied was 97.3% (n=945); the success rate did not vary significantly by gestational age (95.9%-100%; P=0.449). Most women (n=922, 95.0%) had a successful induced abortion with only one dose of misoprostol.

Conclusion: The combined mifepristone and buccal misoprostol regimen was found to be highly effective and acceptable among Mexican women. www.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00386282.

Keywords: Acceptability; Combined regimen; Efficacy; Medical abortion; Mexico; Mifepristone; Misoprostol.