Diagnostic value of a questionnaire for term assessment among women seeking abortion

Since 2020 in France, at-home medical abortion (AHMA) has been authorised for up to nine weeks of gestation. All consultations can be performed via teleconsultation. The determination of gestational age (GA) by interrogation avoids a systematic ultrasound and facilitates the care pathway. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of a questionnaire to determine a GA lower than seven or nine weeks of gestation (WG).

This was a prospective study carried out on patients requesting an abortion in the Gynaecology Department of the North and Conception hospitals (Hôpital Nord and la Conception), AP-HM (Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille), from 2 November 2021 to 1 September 2022. A modified translated questionnaire was evaluated. The questionnaire was published in June 2020 by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to ensure access to abortion in England. All patients included in the study completed the questionnaire and received an ultrasound. We assessed the diagnostic value of the questionnaire for determining GA below seven or nine WG.

Seven hundred and forty-eight patients were included in the study. The sensitivity of the questionnaire for determining patients with a GA of less than seven and nine WG was 84% and 93%, with a positive predictive value of 71.4% and 91.8% respectively.

The study showed that the questionnaire had good diagnostic value for the selection of patients of under nine WG. Thus, women with limited access to ultrasounds could avoid them.