Effects of a prolonged, 72 hours, interval between mifepristone and gemeprost in second trimester termination of pregnancy: a retrospective analysis

To evaluate if the 72 hours interval between mifepristone and gemeprost has a similar efficacy compared to the 48 hours interval for second trimester termination of pregnancy

Two-hundred and fifteen consecutive pregnant women, admitted to our hospital, for second trimester TOP, were included in this retrospective analysis. Standard protocol was followed for all patients. On the first day of the procedure oral mifepristone 200 mg was administered. After 72 (group A, n = 78) or 48 hours (group B, n = 113) women were admitted for administration of gemeprost 1 mg pessary as per protocol. The induction to abortion time was defined as the interval between the insertion of the first gemeprost pessary and the expulsion of the fetus.

There are no significant differences in the number of pessaries in the two groups. The induction to abortion interval was longer in group A than in group B. Twenty-one women required surgical evacuation of the uterus for retained placenta or incomplete abortion without difference between groups.

A 48-hours interval between mifepristone and gemeprost leads to better results than a 72-hours interval, with a shorter abortion length and represents the elective method for second trimester TOP.