Abstract
Objective: Because of concern over the higher rates of failed abortion, many clinicians defer
surgical abortion until 7 menstrual weeks or later. We conducted this study to evaluate
the efficacy and safety of early surgical abortions that are performed by numerous
physicians in a community-based setting. Study Design: We prospectively gathered data on all eligible patients who had surgical abortions
at <6 weeks of gestation at 3 Planned Parenthood clinics from January 1, 1998, to
August 31, 2000. Outcomes were evaluated with the use of proportions with 95% CI and
χ2 analysis. Results: A total of 1132 women had early surgical abortions during the study interval, and
follow-up was available for 750 of those women (66%). Seventeen women (2.3%; 95% CI,
1.4%, 3.7%) had failed attempted abortions. Other complications occurred in 13 women.
Conclusion: Early surgical abortion is safe and effective. In this series, the frequency of complications
that required curettage was similar to that reported with mifepristone and vaginal
misoprostol. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;187:407-11.)
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 30,
2002
Received in revised form:
October 15,
2001
Received:
July 27,
2001
Footnotes
☆The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
☆☆Reprints not available from the authors.
Identification
Copyright
© 2002 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
