Resumen : The safety, efficacy, and acceptability of medical abortion compared to surgical abortion were assessed in a study of 500 women in Cuba with amenorrhea of less than 56 days. 119 participants (23.8%) were adolescents. Volunteers were given a choice of surgical or medical abortion and enrolled sequentially until 250 women had ben recruited to each arm of the sample. The medical regimen entailed 600 mg of mifepristone followed 48 hours later by 400 mcg of misoprostol. Women choosing medical abortion had a higher level of education, greater height, and a lower gestational age than their counterparts in the surgical abortion group. The failure rate for medical abortion (7.2%) exceeded that for surgical abortion (4%). Among adolescents who took the abortifacient agents, the failure rate was only 1.7%. Women who underwent medical abortion experienced more side effects, including bleeding, cramping, nausea, and vomiting. Only fever was more frequent in the surgical abortion group. A significantly higher percentage of women in the medical abortion group than in the surgical group were highly satisfied with the method they chose (68.5% vs. 54.4%).
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