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Jill Durocher

Use of an at‐Home Multilevel Pregnancy Test and an Automated Call‐in System to Follow‐up the Outcome of Medical Abortion

Published
September 16th, 2018
Type
Publication
Topic
Medication Abortion
Authors
Anger H, Dabash R, Peña M, Coutiño D, Bousiéguez M, Sanhueza P, Winikoff B

Gynecology & Obstetrics; 16 September 2018; https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.12679

Objective: To assess the feasibility of using an at‐home multilevel pregnancy test (MLPT) and interactive voice response (IVR) call‐in system for remote follow‐up of medical abortion.

Methods: A prospective pilot study was conducted among women who had a medical abortion at up to 70 days at a clinic in Mexico City, Mexico, between June 1, 2015, and January 30, 2016. Participants took an MLPT at the initial clinic visit and another MLPT at home 2 weeks later. They were requested to report their MLPT results via the IVR system and attend the clinic for follow‐up evaluation.

Results: Of 200 women considered for inclusion, 163 (81.5%) were included in the analysis. Only 10 (6.6%) of the 152 women who had a medical abortion on or before 63 days of pregnancy reported MLPT results that required clinical evaluation to confirm no ongoing pregnancy. The remaining 142 (93.4%) women in this group reported MLPT results that ruled out ongoing pregnancy (confirmed at clinical evaluation). Reported MLPT results ruled out ongoing pregnancy among the 11 women who had a medical abortion after 63 days; however, 1 (9%) had an ongoing pregnancy at clinical evaluation.

Conclusion: Use of MLPTs and the IVR system provided a streamlined approach to follow‐up after medical abortion.