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A medical approach to management of spontaneous abortion using misoprostol. Extending misoprostol treatment to a maximum of 48 hours can further improve evacuation of retained products of conception in spontaneous abortion.

BACKGROUND: To compare a 48 hour non surgical policy in the management of spontaneous abortion with a policy of routine, universal uterine curettage. METHODS: A prospective, observational study on 354 women admitted to hospital with spontaneous abortion. Of these, 225 who had retained products of conception were treated with misoprostol for up to 48 hours after 101 were excluded because they had an empty uterus on transvaginal scan (TVS) and another 28 women because they were unsuitable for conservative management. Follow-up was conducted over a 3 week period to assess morbidity. A reference group of 137 women, all of whom had an evacuation of retained products of conception (ERPC) as a routine after they had a TVS documenting retained products of conception (POCs), was used for comparison. RESULTS: Evacuation of the uterus occurred within 24 hours in 107 women and in 148 at 48 hours after misoprostol treatment was started. There were three uterine curettages up to 14 days after discharge from hospital for persistent bleeding and two cases of pelvic infection. An ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed at follow-up in one woman. In the reference group, there were nine women who had complications, four requiring another ERPC and five had infection, an overall complication rate of 6.6% in the reference group and 1.7% in the protocol treatment group. CONCLUSION: A 48 hour regimen using transvaginal ultrasound and misoprostol for the management of spontaneous abortion was successful in avoiding surgery in 249 out of a possible 354 (70.6%) women with spontaneous abortion, with a low rate of subsequent morbidity.

Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal↗

Estimation of the spontaneous abortion risk in the presence of induced abortions.

We propose a method of estimating the miscarriage risk in a setting where counts of births, miscarriages and induced abortions are available, and also the gestational week of each induced abortion. Unlike previously proposed methods, ours takes into account the fraction of the miscarriage risk to which each interrupted pregnancy has been exposed. For this purpose, we draw on an extraneous standard foetal survival curve and stipulate that the survival curve of the study population is a scaled version thereof. Three such scaling models are discussed, and it is shown that the choice is largely a matter of computational convenience. Separate attention is given to a competing-risk model of miscarriages and interruptions, and examples are given of reasons why the crucial assumption that these two sources of termination operate independently is unlikely to be met. Finally, it is argued that pregnancy wishes, especially those of habitual aborters, shape the miscarriage rate to the extent that it becomes as much a cultural parameter as a marker of biological hazards.

Abortion, Habitual↗

The Wessex abortion studies: II. Attitudes of consultant gynaecologists to provision of abortion services.

Interviews with consultant gynaecologists serving the Wessex region about various aspects of their abortion work revealed considerable variations in attitudes and practice. Although the respondents referred to the same criteria in deciding whether to do an abortion, the assessments they made about the significance of these criteria were more of an individual matter. The variation in assessments partly explains the interdistrict disparities in the availability of N.H.S. abortions.

Abortion Applicants↗

Environmental stress alters genes expression and induces ovule abortion: reactive oxygen species appear as ovules commit to abort.

Environmental stress dramatically reduces plant reproduction. Previous results showed that placing roots in 200 mM NaCl for 12 h caused 90% of the developing Arabidopsis ovules to abort (Sun et al. in Plant Physiol 135:2358-2367, 2004). To discover the molecular responses that occur during ovule abortion, gene expression was monitored using Affymetrix 24k genome arrays. Transcript levels were measured in pistils that were stressed for 6, 12, 18, and 24 h, then compared with the levels in healthy pistils. Over the course of this experiment, a total of 535 salt-responsive genes were identified. Cluster analysis showed that differentially expressed genes exhibited reproducible changes in expression. The expression of 65 transcription factors, some of which are known to be involved in stress responses, were modulated during ovule abortion. In flowers, salt stress led to a 30-fold increase in Na+ ions and modest, but significant, decreases in the accumulation of other ions. The expression of cation exchangers and ion transporters were induced, presumably to reestablish ion homeostasis following salt stress. Genes that encode enzymes that detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS), including ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase, were downregulated after ovules committed to abort. These changes in gene expression coincided with the synthesis of ROS in female gametophytes. One day after salt stress, ROS spread from the gametophytes to the maternal chalaza and integuments. In addition, genes encoding proteins that regulate ethylene responses, including ethylene biosynthesis, ethylene signal transduction and ethylene-responsive transcription factors, were upregulated after stress. Hypotheses are proposed on the basis of this expression analysis, which will be evaluated further in future experiments.

Arabidopsis↗

On the role of 'habitual aborters' in the analysis of spontaneous abortion.

Analyses of spontaneous abortion rates often include special provisions to account for the presumed distorting effects that arise because of the presence of habitual aborters. In this paper, I establish a framework for investigating the effects of the presence in study groups of such women. I then examine the strengths and weaknesses of some of the analysis strategies in current use, both in situations where the study group is homogeneous and where there are high-risk women present. I show that the concept of habitual aborter is not useful and can be misleading, and I suggest that one take a broader view of heterogeneity.

Abortion, Habitual↗

Determinants of contraceptive method choice after first delivery, before first abortion, and after first abortion in east China.

A 10% sample of the data from East China from the two-per-thousand fertility and contraception survey of the Chinese State Family Planning Committee was analysed to study determinants of contraceptive choice in three situations: after first surviving delivery; before first abortion after first surviving delivery; and after first abortion. A total of 2880 women were included. For first method choice after first delivery, the most popular method is the IUD, although there are urban/rural differences. Better educated women in urban areas prefer the condom and IUD to the pill, whereas better educated women in rural areas prefer the pill. Younger women prefer the IUD and the pill. For last method choice before first abortion, women who had no sons had apparently high failure rates on the pill.

Abortion, Induced↗

MHC class II compatibility in aborted fetuses and term infants of couples with recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Maternal-fetal histocompatibility for alleles at HLA class II loci, HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1, was examined in 40 abortuses and 31 liveborn children of 68 couples with a history of idiopathic recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSAB) who underwent leukocyte immunization prior to the index pregnancy. Significantly more couples with RSAB shared two HLA-DQA1 alleles as compared with fertile control couples (0.18 vs. 0.03, respectively; P = 0.031). There were no differences in HLA sharing between couples with RSAB who experienced a repeat abortion in the index pregnancy as compared with couples with RSAB who were delivered of a liveborn child. Non-significant deficits of abortuses who were compatible for alleles at the HLA-DQA1 (6 observed vs. 8.5 expected; P = 0.225) and the HLA-DQB1 (7 observed vs. 9.2 expected; P = 0.254) loci were observed. A significant deficit of HLA-DQA1 compatible liveborn children was observed (1 observed vs. 5.5 expected; P = 0.0069). The overall deficit of HLA-DQA1 compatible fetuses (7 observed vs. 14.0 expected; P = 0.0018) after approximately 8 weeks gestation suggests that HLA-DQA1 compatible fetuses may be aborted early in pregnancy, prior to the time when fetal tissue can be recovered for genetic studies.

Abortion, Habitual↗

A new lymphocyte serotyping using cytotoxic antibodies from secondary recurrent aborters and its application in cases of recurrent abortion and infertility.

Using nonanti-human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) lymphocytotoxic antibodies derived from women with an abnormal pregnancy history including secondary recurrent abortion, a new series of serotyping was performed on lymphocytes from 37 couples (74 individuals), and the compatibility between the couples shown by the typing was investigated. The data demonstrated that both couples with primary recurrent abortion and infertile couples with repeated failure of embryo transfers after in vitro fertilization showed significantly close reaction patterns between partners than normal child-bearing couples by principal component factor analysis. It was concluded that this serotyping provides useful information on histocompatibility in the field of pregnancy immunology and that some cases of infertility because of implantation failure, as well as primary recurrent abortion, might be caused by underlying immunogenetical problems.

Abortion, Habitual↗

The effect of Medicaid abortion funding restrictions on abortions, pregnancies and births.

This paper considers whether state Medicaid abortion funding restrictions affect the likelihood of getting pregnant, having an abortion and bearing a child. We exploit a natural experiment afforded by Supreme Court decisions and employ more traditional multivariate models with alternative fixed effect specifications. An analysis of 12 years of state-level data indicate that restrictions are associated with a reduction in abortions and either no change or a reduction in births, implying fewer pregnancies. Subsequent analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) is consistent with these findings and show the response is concentrated among the low-income population.

Abortion, Legal↗

A mucosal disease virus as a cause of abortion hairy birth coat and unthriftiness in sheep. 1. Infiction of pregnant ewes and observations on aborted foetuses and lambs dying before one week of age.

A condition resembling border disease has been transmitted by the inoculation of pregnant ewes with material from affected lambs. Forty-nine merino ewes, mated to merino rams 7 to 87 days previously, were inoculated with an homogenate of brain, spinal cord and spleen from affected lambs. Mummified foetuses, abortions and stillbirths were observed, and lambs with hairy birth coats were born to ewes inoculated between days 12 to 70 of gestation. A mucosal disease virus (MDV), present in the original material, was recovered from the aborted foetuses and lambs. Attempts to induce passive protection using bovine anti-serum to the C24V strain of MDV were not successful. The condition was also transmitted by inoculation of pregnant ewes with a cell culture supernatant prepared from tissue cultures that had been inoculated with an organ homogenate pool. MDV was present in the supernatant and was recovered from aborted foetuses and lambs. It is suggested that a condition in sheep in Australia resembling border disease is due to the infection of the pregnant ewe by a mucosal disease virus.

Abortion, Veterinary↗

Molecular identification of a novel deltaproteobacterium as the etiologic agent of epizootic bovine abortion (foothill abortion).

Epizootic bovine abortion (EBA) is endemic in California's coastal range and the foothill regions of the Sierra Nevada, where it has been the primary diagnosed cause of abortion in beef cattle for >50 years. Investigation of these losses has defined a specific fetal syndrome characterized by late-term abortion or birth of weak or dead calves. Although the unusual clinical presentation and unique fetal pathology associated with EBA have been recognized since the 1950s, the identity of the etiologic agent is unknown. In this study, suppression-hybridization PCR was used to identify a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of a previously undescribed bacterium in thymus tissue derived from affected fetuses. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this pathogen was a deltaproteobacterium closely related to members of the order Myxococcales. A specific PCR was subsequently developed to detect the presence of this bacterium in DNA extracted from fetal thymuses. Using histopathology as the definitive diagnosis for EBA, this PCR demonstrated 100% specificity and 88% sensitivity. The bacterium was also detected in the argasid tick Ornithodoros coriaceus, which is the recognized vector of EBA. These data imply a close association between this novel agent and the etiology of EBA.

Abortion, Veterinary↗

A randomized study comparing the efficacy of reducing the spontaneous abortion rate following lymphocyte immunotherapy and progesterone treatment versus progesterone alone in primary habitual aborters.

Presented herein is a randomized prospective study performed to evaluate the efficacy of the addition of lymphocyte immunotherapy (LI) to progesterone (P) therapy (LI/P) for the prevention of spontaneous abortion (SAB) in primary aborters with a history of three SABs. The incidence of intrauterine pregnancies in four cycles was 23 of 35 (65.7%) patients for LI/P vs. 14 of 31 (45.1%) patients treated with progesterone alone. SABs occurred in 6 of 23 (26.0%) LI/P-treated patients compared to 8 of 14 (57.1%) given progesterone alone. The mean number of previous abortions in both groups was 3.9. The mean age of the LI/P group was 34.1 vs. 33.6 years for the group treated with progesterone alone. These data could be interpreted to show that progesterone therapy and LI independently inhibit SAB or that LI/P acts synergistically to inhibit immune destruction. LI/P therapy was found to be more effective than progesterone therapy alone.

Abortion, Habitual↗

[Failed induced abortion. Pregnancy continuing after induced abortion].

Operations classified as induced abortion fail, i.e. the pregnancy continues, in approximately 0.05% of the cases. Termination procedures before 7-8 weeks of gestation and wrong assessment of the size of the uterus imply significantly increased risk of failed abortion. The article describes current methods for early termination of pregnancy, as well as preoperative procedures and postoperative advice aimed at avoiding or detecting failed induced abortions.

Abortion, Induced↗

Virus-induced abortion. Studies of equine herpesvirus 1 (abortion virus) in hamsters.

A hamster-adapted strain of equine herpesvirus-1 (equine abortion virus) caused severe hepatic degeneration in both pregnant and nonpregnant hamsters and, in addition, regularly induced abortion in pregnant hamsters inoculated at midgestation. In nonpregnant hamsters, the only consistently affected organ was the liver despite a prolonged viremia. Newborn animals usually died 1 to 2 days after inoculation; adults died 5 to 9 days after inoculation. In pregnant hamsters, the virus had a tropism for the placenta as well as the liver. The placental infection was confined almost exclusively to one cell type in the fetal portion of the placenta: the trophoblast cells of the syncytiotrophoblast zone. Necrosis of this zone led to fetal death and abortion. Infection of the fetus did not occur.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

Third World birth control--is it abortion? Drug combination gains support as alternative to surgical abortion.

Drugs that induce miscarriage may eventually replace traditional surgical abortions in the first three months of pregnancy. In particular, a panel that recently evaluated international drug tests, determined that a specific two-drug combination was safe and effective when used early in pregnancy. The combination included a relatively new compound called RU 486 that induced abortions and has been tested in Europe as a 'morning after' pill. The other drug, prostaglandin, is older, and already on the market. The new twist is that together the drugs can be used as low doses that cause few side-effects, and that in combination, they have approximately a 95 percent success rate in causing abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Should women be denied this new birth control option on social rather than medical grounds? In most countries cultural, religious and legal considerations will inevitably influence the decision on whether or not to approve RU 486. Concern for women's reproductive health should also be a factor. Moreover, politics should not infringe on sound medical practice, nor should access to a major medical advance be restricted purely on the basis of an emotional debate.

Abortion, Legal↗

False positive ELISA tests for anticardiolipin antibodies in sera from patients with repeated abortion, rheumatologic disorders and primary biliary cirrhosis: correlation with elevated polyclonal IgM and implications for patients with repeated abortion.

Non-specific binding in an ELISA test for antibodies to cardiolipin (ACA) was investigated in sera from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, rheumatological disorders, and repeated abortion. Binding to wells without phospholipid was most frequent in ELISA assay for IgM class ACA and correlated with levels of serum polyclonal IgM in patients with repeated abortion and rheumatologic disorders (r = 0.79, 0.76). Using added polyclonal IgM we demonstrated that the increase in non-specific binding was most significant when levels of ACA were low; subtraction of binding to the unoccupied well over-corrected specific antibody estimates when a high affinity antibody was present. Absorption studies on three sera suggest that this 'non-specific' binding includes low affinity antibody binding. Elevated levels of polyclonal IgM in sera from patients with repeated abortion may account for some reports of elevated IgM class antibodies in other ELISA assays. The prevalence of a positive test for ACA in a sequential series of 412 such patients was reduced to 6.1% (95% confidence limits 4-9%) after subtraction of non-specific binding.

Abortion, Habitual↗

Comparison of rigid and flexible cannulae for early abortion without cervical dilatation. World Health Organization Task Force on Sequelae of Abortion.

A randomized controlled trial comparing four types of cannula for early abortion was undertaken in seven World Health Organization Collaborating Centers for Clinical Research in Human Reproduction. One-holed and two-holed cannulae, both flexible and rigid, were used to perform early abortions less than 46 days after the last menstrual period. A total of 3,066 women participated in the study. The adjusted incidence rates of failed abortion (0.95 to 6.4 percent) and of postprocedure bleeding requiring recurettage (8.8 to 9.1 percent) in the one-holed cannula group were significantly higher than the rates in the three other cannulae groups (3.0 to 3.5 and 2.2 to 3.8 percent, respectively). The rates for continuation of pregnancy were higher than those reported by other investigators, possibly owing in part to successful follow-up and the use of routine pregnancy testing at the follow-up visit.

Abortion, Induced↗