Use of medications to decrease bleeding during surgical abortion: a survey of abortion providers' practices in the United States

Objective: Our objective was to document current practices of abortion providers on the use of medications to decrease bleeding during surgical abortion. Study design: We emailed surveys to 336 abortion providers through a professional listserv to elicit information on their use of medications to prevent and treat bleeding during first- and second-trimester surgical abortion. Results: One hundred sixty-eight (50%) providers responded to our survey. The majority were obstetrician-gynecologists (83%) working in an academic practice (66%). Most completed a fellowship in family planning (87%) and currently perform abortions up to 22 or 24 weeks of gestation (63%). Seventy-two percent routinely used prophylactic medications for bleeding. Providers who routinely used medications to prevent bleeding most commonly chose vasopressin (83%). Providers preferred methylergonovine as a treatment for excessive bleeding in the second trimester, followed by misoprostol. Conclusion: We found that most providers routinely use medications to prevent bleeding and use several different regimens to treat bleeding during abortion. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Inc.