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The use of mifepristone (RU 486) for cervical preparation in first trimester pregnancy termination by vacuum aspiration
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1990.tb01791.x
Subject(s) - mifepristone , vacuum aspiration , medicine , cervix , placebo , pregnancy , obstetrics , placebo group , abortion , gynecology , surgery , research methodology , family planning , population , genetics , alternative medicine , environmental health , pathology , cancer , biology
Summary. Animal and clinical evidence suggests that the antiprogestin mifepristone may be of potential use for cervical preparation before surgical termination of pregnancy. A double‐blind, multicentre study was undertaken of 230 primigravid women with 10–12 weeks amenorrhoea who were randomly assigned to groups given 0 (placebo), 25, 50 or 100 mg mifepristone twice at 24 and 12 h before vacuum aspiration. In mifepristone‐treated women the cervix was on average between 0.9 and 1.2 mm more dilated at operation, but the effect was not dose related. High resistance during further mechanical stretching tended to be encountered more often and at a smaller cervical diameter in the placebo group than in the women given mifepristone, but these differences were not statistically significant. In contrast, the ease of dilatation assessed subjectively by the operating surgeons was not only improved by the antiprogestin, but was also dose related. Mifepristone therapy was not associated with any side‐effects and only two of the women from the highest dose group experienced preoperative vaginal bleeding. Per operative blood loss, post‐operative complications, the duration of post‐operative bleeding and the interval to the first period were similar in the four treatment groups.