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posted by mrpg on Monday June 11 2018, @09:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the good dept.

A combination of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol can help bring closure to some women and their families suffering from miscarriage, and reduces the need for surgical intervention to complete the painful miscarriage process. Results of a new clinical trial led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, show that while the standard drug regimen using misoprostol on its own frequently fails to complete the miscarriage, a combination of misoprostol and the drug mifepristone works much more reliably. The report is published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Each year in the United States alone approximately 1 million women have miscarriages. When the body does not expel the pregnancy tissue on its own -- the final part of a miscarriage -- women need to undergo a surgical procedure or take the drug misoprostol. Though often preferable for its convenience and privacy -- patients can take it in the comfort of their own homes -- misoprostol does not always work, and many women who use misoprostol are still left with no option but to undergo an invasive procedure they wished to avoid, prolonging an already physically and emotionally difficult situation.

"Though rarely discussed openly, miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy, and the public health burden is both physical and psychological. For too many women, misoprostol alone just leads to frustration. I have seen my patients suffer from the insult of the treatment failure added to the injury of the initial loss," said study lead author Courtney A. Schreiber, MD, MPH, chief of the division of Family Planning and an associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "As physicians, we have to do better for these patients, and our new study shows that by combining mifepristone with misoprostol, we can."


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @09:31AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @09:31AM (#691325)

    it did take quite a while for it to actually happen. I guess they would have recommended something if it had taken much longer.

    I think that's when I felt the most useless that I've ever felt...
    (we're fine, subsequent pregnancies gave us two healthy and exhausting boys).

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @07:26PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @07:26PM (#691559)

      Our family has had miscarriages as well. They recommended the surgical procedure, as it would be less traumatic, for both. On the first one, we opted not. It was a bit before the expulsion phase, but the doctors assured us that the risk of infection was low, as long as the membranes don't rupture. If they did, time to infection onset was two days, and the doctors recommended not going longer than two weeks with intervention (surgical or drugs) and to monitor for rupture, fever, and take pregnancy tests daily (thanks Amazon a box of 50 cost as much as a single test at the store). She finally did and it was super traumatic for her, the images burned in my mind forever, and the actual process was measured in hours from rupture to resolution. She won't even go into the bathroom she used anymore and you can see the hesitancy in her face when she has to approach it.

      The second one was done using a procedure. They got her locally anesthetized and high as a kite. The whole process from arrival to discharge was less than an hour. Ever since then, we've recommended the latter. At a minimum, I'd recommend drugs to induce the process. That way, you can mentally prepare and know it is coming at a particular time or place. It would prevent the trauma of having to wait, lower the risk of problems, and insure that you have your support system around.

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @11:11PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @11:11PM (#691659)

        My wife said I should share this story from the procedure day because, the experience was so non-traumatic and she was so out of fucks to give, she can find this funny and shows the extra care they took: We arrived for the appointment. I go to the check-in desk while she makes her way to a chair. The lady looks up and says, "We've been expecting you," and a nurse comes right out to get us and help my wife up. A lady waiting says (probably louder than she meant to), "Why does her baby get to see the doctor right away and mine doesn't?" My wife says, "Probably because yours is still alive." "What on Earth does tha..." The older lady sitting next to her interrupts and whispers something in her ear as we are ushered through the door. Right before the door closes behind her we hear her say, "Well Fuck! I really am a bitch lately, but don't you dare tell Steve!" Everyone on the other side of the door had to take a moment to collect ourselves. The anesthetist offered to erase her memory of that but my wife said, "No way, I'm keeping something good out of today."

        That is also the day I learned that you can selectively erase people's memories. Well, at least prevent them from becoming long-term memories.

  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @09:51AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 11 2018, @09:51AM (#691328)

    My backpack containing a stick with my project's complete svn tree just got stolen.

    Can you set me up with a pistol? I understand that's far quicker than using this handy rope I presently have at my disposal.

  • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by realDonaldTrump on Monday June 11 2018, @01:49PM

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Monday June 11 2018, @01:49PM (#691384) Homepage Journal

    @VP [twitter.com] Pence says those drugs are abortion pills. RU-486 and the other. So important to our wonderful young ladies. But our taxpayers won't pay for them. Hyde Amendment!!!!

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