One or two day mifepristone–misoprostol interval for second trimester abortion

Methods. A retrospective 2‐year cohort study of 127 women, with gestation between 13 and 24 weeks and a live fetus, seeking induced abortion. The aim was to compare the effect of a 1‐day and a 2‐day interval between oral mifepristone (200 mg) and vaginal misoprostol (400 μg) every 3 h. Results. The time to fetal expulsion was longer (9.8 versus 7.5 h; p <0.01) in the 1‐day than in the 2‐day group, but the median number of applications were identical and abortion occurred in 98% within 24 h in both groups The time to abortion was longer in women with a gestation of 17–22 weeks compared to women with lower gestation (10.2 versus 6.8 h; p <0.001), and longer in nulliparae than in parous women (10.0 versus 6.7 h; p <0.001). Conclusion. The combined regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol is effective in the second trimester, and the interval between the drugs can be reduced allowing individualised patient care.