FRIDAY, Sept. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Medical treatment with mifepristone and misoprostol is an effective alternative to surgical uterine evacuation for women who have miscarriages, according to a study published in the August issue of Fertility and Sterility. However, medically treated patients experienced more pain and reported more dissatisfaction.
Maarit Niinimaki, M.D., and colleagues from Oulu University Hospital in Finland, randomly assigned 98 women who had miscarriages to receive either medical treatment with 200 milligrams of mifepristone and 0.8 milligrams of misoprostol or surgical uterine evacuation.
The researchers found that success rates were 90 percent for medical treatment and 100 percent for surgical treatment. Although surgically treated patients experienced more infections, they were more satisfied than medically treated patients (100 percent versus 88 percent, respectively) and more likely to report that they would choose the procedure again (91 percent versus 70 percent, respectively).
"Medical procedure is more painful and the patients are less satisfied with the treatment," the authors conclude. "Therefore, it is especially crucial to offer sufficient analgesia to medically treated patients and to inform patients about the possible complications of the procedure. In the future, the possibility to choose the method after patient information and discussion will probably improve the satisfaction with the treatment."
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