Abortion In Week Research Articles

0389 Spontaneous Abortion in Flight Attendants

ObjectivesFlight attendant occupational exposures include cosmic ionising radiation and circadian disruption. We wanted to determine whether these and other occupational exposures were associated with spontaneous abortion among female flight attendants.MethodFemale...

Holoprosencefalia semilobular en 2 gestaciones sucesivas

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is characterized by a spectrum of central nervous system anomalies arising from a failure in the differentiation and division of the prosencephalon. Approximately 50% of the causes are chromosomal, the most frequent being trisomies 13 and 18. A familial form has occasionally been described. There are three types of HPE: alobar, semilobar and lobar. We present the case of a 33-year-old woman who showed identical ultrasonographic findings compatible with semilobar HPE in the second trimester of two successive pregnancies. Both parents had normal karyotypes, but mild mental retardation. Both pregnancies were finalized by dilation and extraction abortion in weeks 21 and 20, respectively. Histopathological analysis confirmed HPE in both fetuses. Given these findings, cerebral magnetic resonance imaging was performed in both parents to exclude familial HPE. The mother showed slight asymmetry in ventricular size and fornix with no other abnormalities. Study of the father confirmed our suspicions and showed partial agenesis of the corpus callosum in the medial and posterior portions, as well as a defect in the morphology of the lateral ventricles and a single pericallosal artery. The cerebral sickle showed little development.

A pilot study of mifepristone in combination with sublingual or vaginal misoprostol for medical termination of pregnancy up to 63 days gestation

Of the total women included in the study, 96 women chose to receive misoprostol 600 μg sublingually while 53 women received misoprostol 800 μg vaginally 36–48 h after receiving mifepristone 200 mg. Complete abortion occurred in 93 women (98.9%) in the sublingual and 51 women (96.2%) in the vaginal group (p = 0.27). The mean induction-to-abortion interval was 3.2 h (SD = 1.4) in the sublingual and 4.1 h (SD = 1.5) in the vaginal group (p = 0.02). The mean gestation at abortion in weeks was 7.1 (SD = 1.0) in the sublingual and 7.7 (SD = 1.3) in the vaginal group (p = 0.003). Women in the sublingual group experienced more vomiting (p = 0.03), diarrhea (p = 0.02) and unpleasant taste in their mouth (p = 0.0001) while those in the vaginal group experienced more headache (p = 0.002). Of women in the sublingual group, 77% were satisfied with the route of misoprostol administration compared to 68% in the vaginal group (p = 0.25). These findings now need to be assessed in the context of a randomized controlled trial.

Attitudes towards abortion among physicians working at obstetrical and paediatric departments in Denmark

The purpose of this study was to describe the attitudes among physicians working in perinatal medicine towards abortion for social reasons or because of abnormal prenatal diagnostic results. A questionnaire was sent to all physicians registered as employed at obstetrical or paediatric departments in Danish hospitals with a neonatal function. Of 994 questionnaires, 687 (69 per cent) were completed and returned. There was strong consensus among all participants that abortion is acceptable until week 21 in the case of trisomy 13 and at least until week 19 in the case of cystic fibrosis. Furthermore, there was strong consensus that abortion in the first trimester is acceptable in the case of an unwanted pregnancy in a 16-year-old girl and in the case of Down syndrome. Major controversy was found in connection with abortion in the case of Turner syndrome until week 21, abortion in week 13 in the case of polycystic kidney disease, abortion in week 24 in the case of Down syndrome, and abortion for social reasons in week 21.

Prostaglandins and abortion: I. Intramuscular administration of 15-methyl prostaglandin F2α for induction of abortion in weeks 10 to 20 of pregnancy

A multicenter, multinational study of intramuscular 15-methyl prostaglandin F2α in 515 patients is described. Abortion of the fetus occurred in 79.3 per cent (408 patients) after 24 hours and 84.9 per cent (437 patients) after 30 hours. The abortion was complete in 35 per cent. The incidence of vomiting and diarrhea was high, 2.9 and 2.8 episodes per patient, respectively. Three patients had cervical laceration (0.6 per cent). There were no other serious side effects. It is concluded that this method has limited value as a primary method for induction of abortion but may be of value to finalize the abortion process when another method has failed.