Second trimester medical abortion with mifepristone followed by unlimited dosing of buccal misoprostol in Armenia.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy and acceptability of a regimen using mifepristone and buccal misoprostol with unlimited dosing for second trimester abortion in Armenia. METHODS: Women seeking to terminate 13-22 week pregnancies were enrolled in the study. Participants swallowed 200 mg mifepristone in the clinic and were instructed to return to the hospital for induction 24-48 h later. During induction, women were given 400 µg buccal misoprostol every 3 h until the fetus and placenta were expelled. The abortion was considered a success if complete uterine evacuation was achieved without oxytocin or surgery. RESULTS: A total of 120 women with a median gestational age of 18 weeks participated in the study. All women began misoprostol induction around 24 h after taking mifepristone. Complete uterine evacuation was achieved in 119 (99.2%) women. The median induction-to-abortion interval was 10.3 h (range 4-17.4) with a mean of 9.5 ± 2.5 h. A median of four misoprostol doses (range 2-6) with a mean of 4 ± 1 misoprostol doses were administered. The induction-to-abortion interval, number of misoprostol doses, pain score and analgesia use increased as gestational age advanced. Acceptability of the method was high among both patients and providers. CONCLUSION: The medical abortion regimen of 200 mg mifepristone followed 24 h later by induction with 400 µg buccal misoprostol administered every 3 h, with no limit on the number of doses used for the termination of pregnancies of 13-22 weeks' gestation is an effective and acceptable option for women.

The introduction of first trimester medical abortion in Armenia.

In Armenia, abortion is the main means of fertility regulation; however, before research activities were initiated only surgical methods were available and the quality of services was low in some areas. Our clinical study from 2008-2011 aimed to show that early medical abortion is an acceptable and feasible option. A total of 700 eligible women with pregnancies up to 63 days LMP presenting for abortion were recruited for the study in five locations. Participants took 200 mg mifepristone and 800 µg buccal misoprostol 24-48 hours later. They returned for a follow-up visit two weeks after mifepristone administration. 95% of the women had successful abortions and 95% were satisfied with the method. In 2012-2013, we conducted a follow-up assessment to examine the ongoing provision and quality of medical abortion services at the former research sites. Medical record reviews, interviews and observations were carried out three times approximately six months apart. The assessment found that all five sites had continued providing medical abortion, with about half of eligible women choosing the medical method. Four of the five sites were achieving high success rates. Staff turnover and the lack of trained providers likely contributed to the higher failure rate at the fifth site. These findings provide evidence that first trimester medical abortion is an acceptable and feasible option for Armenian women and providers, and that high quality services are being delivered.

Seizure Assessment and Forecasting With Efficient Rapid-EEG: A Retrospective Multicenter Comparative Effectiveness Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Approximately 30% of critically ill patients have seizures, and more than half of these seizures do not have an overt clinical correlate. EEG is needed to avoid missing seizures and prevent overtreatment with antiseizure medications. Conventional-EEG (cEEG) resources are logistically constrained and unable to meet their growing demand for seizure detection even in highly developed centers. Brief EEG screening with the validated 2HELPS2B algorithm was proposed as a method to triage cEEG resources, but it is hampered by cEEG requirements, primarily EEG technologists. Seizure risk-stratification using reduced time-to-application rapid response-EEG (rrEEG) systems (∼5 minutes) could be a solution. We assessed the noninferiority of the 2HELPS2B score on a 1-hour rrEEG compared to cEEG. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective EEG diagnostic accuracy study was conducted from October 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022. Chart and EEG review performed with consecutive sampling at 4 tertiary care centers, included records of patients ≥18 years old, from January 1, 2018, to June 20, 2022. Monte Carlo simulation power analysis yielded n = 500 rrEEG; for secondary outcomes n = 500 cEEG and propensity-score covariate matching was planned. Primary outcome, noninferiority of rrEEG for seizure risk prediction, was assessed per area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). Noninferiority margin (0.05) was based on the 2HELPS2B validation study. RESULTS: A total of 240 rrEEG with follow-on cEEG were obtained. Median age was 64 (interquartile range 22); 42% were female. 2HELPS2B on a 1-hour rrEEG met noninferiority to cEEG (AUC 0.85, 95% CI 0.78-0.90, p = 0.001). Secondary endpoints of comparison with a matched contemporaneous cEEG showed no significant difference in AUC (0.89, 95% CI 0.83-0.94, p = 0.31); in false negative rate for the 2HELPS2B = 0 group (p = 1.0) rrEEG (0.021, 95% CI 0-0.062), cEEG (0.016, 95% CI 0-0.048); nor in survival analyses. DISCUSSION: 2HELPS2B on 1-hour rrEEG is noninferior to cEEG for seizure prediction. Patients with low-risk (2HELPS2B = 0) may be able to forgo prolonged cEEG, allowing for increased monitoring of at-risk patients. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that rrEEG is noninferior to cEEG in calculating the 2HELPS2B score to predict seizure risk.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of abortion among women and doctors in Armenia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess knowledge and attitudes towards abortion among women and obstetricians/gynaecologists in Armenia, in order to facilitate the introduction of medical abortion. METHODS: Ninety-nine doctors and 400 women in three cities in Armenia were purposively selected to participate in face-to-face interviews using structured survey instruments. RESULTS: Most women knew that abortion is legal under any (31%) or certain (50%) circumstances. The majority of women had heard of medical abortion, but had superficial or incorrect knowledge of the method. Thirty percent of women expressed a preference for medical abortion over surgical abortion. Despite the fact that the medications are not readily available in Armenia, nearly one out of three doctors reported having experience in using misoprostol or mifepristone + misoprostol to terminate pregnancies. Doctors not providing medical abortion cited concerns about the method's efficacy and safety, or felt that they did not have enough information. One-third of doctors were very interested in receiving training on medical abortion methods. CONCLUSIONS: Both doctors and women in Armenia are interested in medical abortion as an alternative to surgical abortion. Efforts should focus on informing women about the legality of abortion and the details of the medical abortion procedure, and on training doctors in this new method.