Satisfaction with medication abortion and marijuana use: A prospective cohort study

This exploratory study compared self-reported satisfaction rates and pain scores between patients who used marijuana during their medication abortion versus non-users.

We recruited medication abortion patients at a University-affiliated abortion clinic in Denver, Colorado. Participants completed a pre-abortion questionnaire, pain diary, and follow-up survey that assessed satisfaction with pain control, symptoms, and abortion experience. Using medians test, we compared the sums of median satisfaction scores between patients who used marijuana versus non-users. Based on diary entries, we also compared reported pain over 24 h after misoprostol (area under the curve [AUC]) between cohorts.

We enrolled 51 participants; 16 marijuana users and 35 non-marijuana users. Marijuana users and non-users had similar sums of median satisfaction scores (22 vs. 20 out of 30, p = 0.90) and median question-specific satisfaction scores (range 7-8 vs. 6.5-8, p = 0.6-1.0). Sixteen marijuana users (100%) and 20 (57%) non-users completed their pain diary; median AUCs for pain were similar (65.0 vs. 59.5, p = 0.73). Thirteen (81%) patients subjectively correlated marijuana use with pain reduction, seven (44%) with anxiety reduction, and six (38%) with nausea/vomiting improvement.

We found no significant difference in measures of medication abortion satisfaction and pain when comparing marijuana users to non-users. However, marijuana users often attributed symptom improvement during their medication abortion to marijuana use.

Until randomized studies are available, clinicians can counsel patients that marijuana use may not necessarily affect satisfaction or pain with medication abortion. It remains unknown whether marijuana has potential benefits in a marijuana-naïve population undergoing medication abortion. Future studies should explore the role that marijuana and its derivatives may play for pain and side effect management during medication abortion among marijuana-naïve patients.