Efficacy of simultaneous use of mifepristone and misoprostol for early abortion

For early medical abortion, the most widely accepted regimens involve oral mifepristone in either a 200or 600mg dose, followed 2 days later by misoprostol. A recent study has reported that the rate of complete expulsion with medical abortion remains unchanged even if the interval between administration of mifepristone and misoprostol decreased to between 6 and 8 hours [1]. Other research has revealed a high rate of complete abortion when the 2 drugs are used concurrently [2−4]. The aim of this study was to determine the complete abortion rate with concurrent use of mifepristone and vaginal misoprostol. The study received approval from the Institutional Review Board and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Successful abortion was defined as complete medical abortion without surgical intervention. From November 2005 to October 2007, a total of 144 pregnant women underwent medical abortion. All eligible women had an intrauterine pregnancy at 49 days of gestation or less confirmed by vaginal ultrasound. The method used was oral administration of 200 mg mifepristone (Apano; Lotus Pharmaceutical Co., Taipei, Taiwan) and immediate intravaginal placement of 600 μg misoprostol (Cytotec; Pfizer, New York, NY, USA). Participants returned 3 days after administration of the combination. After being questioned regarding side effects, vaginal ultrasound was performed. All participants were scheduled for a second follow-up visit on day 14 after the