Decentralizing postabortion care in Senegal with misoprostol for incomplete abortion.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To expand access to postabortion care (PAC) services in Senegal by introducing misoprostol as a first-line treatment at the community level.

METHODS:

The present prospective study enrolled 481 women seeking treatment for incomplete abortion at 11 community health posts in Senegal between September 2011 and August 2012. Participants were given 400 μg of sublingual misoprostol and asked to return to the clinic 1 week later to confirm clinical status. At study completion, all women were asked to respond to a series of questions regarding their experience with this method. All care was provided by nurse midwives.

RESULTS:

All but three of the study women (99.4%; 474/477) had successful complete abortion after taking misoprostol. Almost all women were satisfied or very satisfied with the treatment (99.6%; 469/471), would select the method again if needed (98.9%; 465/470), and would recommend the method to a friend (99.8%; 468/469).

CONCLUSION:

The results provide further evidence that 400 μg of misoprostol is highly effective for first-line treatment of incomplete abortion. Furthermore, this regimen can be fully provided by nurse midwives, and can be easily and successfully introduced in community health settings where other methods of PAC may not previously have been available. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01939457.

• Authors: Alioune Gaye, Ayisha Diop, Tara Shochet, Beverly Winikoff
• Journal: International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (Int J Gynaecol Obstet) Vol. 126 Issue 3 Pg. 223-6 (Sep 2014) ISSN: 1879-3479 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24893962 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal
• Misoprostol

Topics

• Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal (administration & dosage)
• Abortion, Incomplete (drug therapy)
• Administration, Sublingual
• Adolescent
• Adult
• Female
• Health Services Accessibility
• Humans
• Maternal Welfare
• Middle Aged
• Midwifery
• Misoprostol (administration & dosage)
• Patient Satisfaction
• Pregnancy
• Prospective Studies
• Senegal
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Treatment Outcome