Home Administration of Misoprostol Safe, Effective

FRIDAY, Aug. 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Home administration of misoprostol significantly increases the proportion of day-care procedures in medical abortion after 12 gestational weeks, according to a study published in the Aug. 31 issue of The Lancet.

Johanna Rydelius, M.D., from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues evaluated whether administering the first misoprostol dose at home could increase day-care procedures (no more than nine hours) versus overnight care procedures, shorten inpatient stays, and improve patient satisfaction. The analysis included 457 pregnant women (aged 18 years and older) undergoing medical abortion at 85 to 153 days of pregnancy who were randomly assigned to mifepristone administered in clinic followed by home administration or hospital administration of the first dose of misoprostol.

The researchers found that in the home group, 71 percent of participants completed the abortion as day-care patients versus 46 percent in the hospital group. An adverse event occurred in 22 percent of participants, including seven individuals (2 percent) who aborted after mifepristone only and two (1 percent) in the home group who aborted after the first dose of misoprostol, before hospital admission.

"Home administration of misoprostol significantly increases the proportion of day-care procedures in medical abortion after 12 gestational weeks, offering a safe and effective alternative to in-clinic protocols," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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