Outcomes of medical abortion through 63 days in women with twin gestations

Abstract

Background: Twin gestation is not considered a contraindication to medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol. However, data comparing the efficacy of medical abortion for singleton gestations as compared with multiple gestations are limited. We examined medical abortion outcomes for twin gestations through 63 days.

Study design: We performed a secondary analysis of treatment efficacy and side effects using pooled data from two randomized medical abortion trials. All subjects received mifepristone 200 mg orally and misoprostol 800 mcg vaginally. Outcomes in women with singleton and twin gestations were compared.

Results: Of 2208 subjects, 24 (1.1%) women had twins. Treatment success was not statistically different for twin and singleton gestations (91% vs. 97%, p=.19). Perceived bleeding and pain were not significantly different between groups.

Conclusions: Treatment success of medical abortion for twins is not significantly different than for singletons, although small differences cannot be excluded due to the limited number of twins.