Early pregnancy termination with mifepristone and misoprostol in Norway

Objectives. Medical abortion was first introduced in Norway in April 1998. The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy, side effects, and accep tability of medical abortion using mifepristone orally and misoprostol vagi nally in a Norwegian population. Design. The study included the first 226 pregnant women with gestational ag e of < 63 days who requested nonsurgical abortion during the first year in the first Norwegian hospital using this regimen. Methods. All women received a single dose of mifepristone 600 mg orally, fo llowed at 48 hours by 800 mug misoprostol vaginally. Treatment outcome and complications were the principal outcome measures. We also measured the rat es of side effects such as abdominal pain and bleeding and the women's acce ptability of treatment. Results. Abortion was successful in 95%, surgical evacuation became necessa ry in 4%, and the pregnancy continued in one woman. During the study period the method was chosen by 23% of those requesting abortion before 63 days a menorrhea; 80% would use the method again; 81% would recommend it to a frie nd; in retrospect, 69% would not have been willing to be randomly allocated to either a medical or a surgical method. Conclusions. The combination of orally administrated mifepristone and vagin ally administrated misoprostol is an abortion method that is both effective and safe, has few side effects and is well accepted by Norwegian women.