BLOOD-LOSS IN TERMINATION OF EARLY-PREGNANCY WITH MIFEPRISTONE AND GEMEPROST

The combination of an antiprogestogen with prostaglandin has been shown to be an effective alternative to surgical procedures for pregnancy termination in the first 49 days of amenorrhoea and has been available in France since late 1988. Mifepristone when used alone caused poor efficacy with unacceptable vaginal bleeding. The addition of a prostaglandin analogue (sulprostone, gemeprost) produced acceptable efficacy with less bleeding. The present study provides a quantitative assessment of blood loss in a sample of 20 women undergoing medical termination of early pregnancy (amenorrhoea less than or equal to 49 days). Vaginal bleeding occurred between days 3 and 15 of commencing therapy. The median number of days of bleeding was 4 with a median blood loss of 91.5 mL. The mean blood loss was 136.8 mL (+/- SD 159.2) but this did not adversely affect the hemoglobin level in the volunteers. Most patients describe the experience as that similar to a heavy period and viewed the procedure positively especially since they are spared the anaesthetic risks and hospitalization attendant with surgical abortion. Caution is still however advised as there may be the occasional subject with excessive haemorrhage (as in this study where one woman bled a total of 761.4 mL) and close supervision by a physician is essential.