[RU 486 (mifepristone) and therapeutic abortions in the second and third trimesters]

RU 486 activity for therapeutic pregnancy termination through prostaglandin was studied in a controlled survey including 50 patients, in the second and third trimester of pregnancy (in conformity with the French law). Patients were randomly divided into two groups. The first one was administered orally 200 mg of RU 486, 48 hours before the first Sulprostone injection. The control group did not receive any RU 486. The mean duration between prostaglandin administration and miscarriage was significantly shorter in the RU 486 group (13.16 hours), than in the control group (23.16 hours). Women with RU 486 treatment needed less prostaglandin doses and, above all, had less prostaglandin secondary effects than the patients in the control group.