Elective Abortion Clinical Presentation

  • Author: Suzanne R Trupin, MD, FACOG; Chief Editor: Michel E Rivlin, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jan 31, 2012
 

History

Most terminations of pregnancy are performed after a brief and targeted gynecologic and obstetric history is obtained. Providers should obtain information about any prior pregnancies and information regarding any treatment or care during the current pregnancy. The history taking should also focus on prior gynecologic disease, with particular attention to previous or current sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Medical history that might be important includes a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, anemia, bleeding disorders, or gynecologic surgery. A history of active medical problems may indicate that the patient needs to be medically stabilized prior to the abortion or have the procedure performed in a facility that can handle special medical problems.

  • Maternal indications for abortion
    • With advances in perinatal care, few medical contraindications exist for pregnancy. Perinatologists, obstetricians, and abortion counselors prefer to put the risks in the context of the statistical likelihood of complications, and then let the patient make her final decision.
    • Women take on less risk, regardless of health or gestational age, to terminate a pregnancy than to continue to term. These abortions have been termed therapeutic abortions.
    • Maternal medical conditions that carry significant risks in pregnancy include severe diabetes with retinopathy, cardiac or renal complications, advanced cardiac disease, renal failure, sickle cell disease, autoimmune disease, and psychiatric disease.
    • Cardiac conditions that still carry maternal mortality rates of 5-15% include severe mitral stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, uncorrected tetralogy of Fallot, aortic stenosis, history of myocardial infarction, and the presence of artificial heart valves. Higher mortality rates have been reported in women with coarctation of the aorta with vascular involvement, pulmonary hypertension, Marfan syndrome with aortic involvement, and myocardial infarction in pregnancy.
    • Nondirective counseling can help a woman select her choice.
  • Fetal indications for abortion
    • Fetal conditions that are incompatible with life include anencephaly, trisomy 13, trisomy 18, renal agenesis, thanatophoric dysplasia, alobar holoprosencephaly, and some hydrocephalic cases.
    • Many hypoplastic cardiac conditions are also incompatible with life. However, with cardiac transplantation, some infants can now survive with these defects.
    • The most common fetal anomalies encountered in abortion counseling include most fetal cardiac anomalies; trisomy 21; open and closed neural tube defects; limb, face, or cleft abnormalities; esophageal or duodenal atresia; chest and abdominal wall defects; cystic kidneys or hydronephrosis; intracranial calcifications suggestive of viral disease; or diaphragmatic defects.
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Physical

  • A brief physical examination is usually conducted prior to an abortion procedure. The focus is on dating the pregnancy, ensuring the absence of other gynecologic pathology (particularly STIs), and assessing the patient's suitability for an operative procedure under local sedation.
  • Note any vaginal or cervical discharge, the nature of the cervix, and any lesions. Document the presence or absence of any ovarian pathology.
  • If the patient is planned for general anesthesia, a typical screening preoperative physical examination can be performed.
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Causes

Contraindications

Absolute contraindications are virtually unknown. If abortion presents a medical risk to the patient, then continuation of the pregnancy presents an even greater risk. The type and timing of an abortion procedure or method may be contraindicated based on the medical, surgical, or psychiatric condition of the patient.

  • Medical abortion is contraindicated in patients with clotting disorders, severe liver disease, renal disease, cardiac disease, and chronic steroid use.
  • Medical abortion is also contraindicated in women with no access to emergency services and no partners or family to be with the patient during the heaviest bleeding times.
  • Surgical abortion is contraindicated in patients with hemodynamic instability, profound anemia, and/or profound thrombocytopenia. The conditions should be managed and the context of pregnancy continuation must be considered.
  • The rare instance of placenta accreta and percreta in the second trimester may necessitate laparotomy with hysterotomy or hysterectomy.
  • Previous uterine incisions, including cesarean deliveries or multiple cesarean deliveries have been regarded as a contraindication to medical protocols, but some recent literature has suggested this may be safe.
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Suzanne R Trupin, MD, FACOG  Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign; CEO and Owner, Women's Health Practice; CEO and Owner, Hada Cosmetic Medicine and Midwest Surgical Center

Suzanne R Trupin, MD, FACOG is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, American Medical Association, Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and North American Menopause Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Steven David Spandorfer, MD  Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College

Steven David Spandorfer, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and Endocrine Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

A David Barnes, MD, PhD, MPH, FACOG  Consulting Staff, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mammoth Hospital (Mammoth Lakes, California), Pioneer Valley Hospital (Salt Lake City, Utah), Warren General Hospital (Warren, Pennsylvania), and Mountain West Hospital (Tooele, Utah)

A David Barnes, MD, PhD, MPH, FACOG is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Forensic Examiners, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Medical Association, Association of Military Surgeons of the US, and Utah Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Frederick B Gaupp, MD  Consulting Staff, Department of Family Practice, Hancock Medical Center

Frederick B Gaupp, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Family Physicians

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Michel E Rivlin, MD  Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Mississippi School of Medicine

Michel E Rivlin, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Medical Association, Mississippi State Medical Association, and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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