Early pregnancy termination with mifepristone and misoprostol in Norway

OBJECTIVES

Medical abortion was first introduced in Norway in April 1998. The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy, side effects, and acceptability of medical abortion using mifepristone orally and misoprostol vaginally in a Norwegian population.

DESIGN

The study included the first 226 pregnant women with gestational age of <63 days who requested nonsurgical abortion during the first year in the first Norwegian hospital using this regimen.

METHODS

All women received a single dose of mifepristone 600 mg orally, followed at 48 hours by 800 microg misoprostol vaginally. Treatment outcome and complications were the principal outcome measures. We also measured the rates of side effects such as abdominal pain and bleeding and the women's acceptability of treatment.

RESULTS

Abortion was successful in 95%, surgical evacuation became necessary in 4%, and the pregnancy continued in one woman. During the study period the method was chosen by 23% of those requesting abortion before 63 days amenorrhea; 80% would use the method again; 81% would recommend it to a friend; in retrospect, 69% would not have been willing to be randomly allocated to either a medical or a surgical method.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of orally administrated mifepristone and vaginally administrated misoprostol is an abortion method that is both effective and safe, has few side effects and is well accepted by Norwegian women.