Mifepristone 5 mg versus 10 mg for emergency contraception: double-blind randomized clinical trial

Purpose: To estimate the efficacy and safety of 5 mg and 10 mg mifepristone for emergency contraception up to 144 hours after unprotected coitus. Methods: This double-blind randomized clinical trial was carried out at Eusebio Hernandez Hospital (Havana, Cuba). A total of 2,418 women who requested emergency contraception after unprotected coitus received either 5 mg or 10 mg mifepristone. The variables for assessing efficacy were the pregnancies that occurred and the fraction of pregnancies that were prevented. Other variables assessed were the side effects of mifepristone, vaginal bleeding, and changes in the date of the following menstruation. Results: There were 15/1,206 (1.2%) and 9/1,212 (0.7%) pregnancies in the 5 mg and 10 mg group, respectively (P=0.107). There were 88% and 93% prevented pregnancies in the 5 mg and 10 mg group, respectively. The side effect profiles were similar in both groups. Delayed menstruation >= 7 days was experienced by 4.9% and 11.0% of subjects in the 5 mg and 10 mg group, respectively (P=0.001). There was a significant high failure rate for women weighing >75 kg in the 5 mg group. Conclusion: It would be advisable to use the 10 mg dose of mifepristone for emergency contraception as there was a trend suggesting that the failure rate of the larger dose was lower.