Efficacy LSPT to identify pregnancy 64-70 days
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Efficacy of a low-sensitivity urine pregnancy test (LSPT) for identifying ongoing pregnancy after medical abortion at 64 to 70 days of gestation
IRAS ID
248370
Contact name
Patricia Lohr
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
British Pregnancy Advisory Service
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 2 days
Research summary
Early medical abortion involves taking two types of medication (mifepristone and misoprostol) in order to end a pregnancy. One to two weeks after taking the medications, follow-up to assess abortion completion is done in clinic via exam, ultrasound, and/or urine or blood testing. In addition, remote follow-up has been shown to be successful using a low-sensitivity urine pregnancy test (LSPT). Current British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) policy allows women having medical abortion through 63 days gestation to opt for follow-up via ultrasound or via remote self-administration of a LSPT and a screening questionnaire. Under BPAS policy, women between 64-70 days are required to return to the clinic for ultrasound evaluation. While this policy serves to avoid false negative results that might delay treatment of an ongoing pregnancy, it adds an extra burden for women in this gestational age range. There is insufficient data on the sensitivity of the LSPT this gestational age, but if test has high sensitivity, BPAS policy could be revised to allow remote follow-up for this group of women as well. We aim to evaluate the ability of an LSPT to identify women with ongoing pregnancy during medical abortion at 64 to 70 days of gestation.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/WM/0288
Date of REC Opinion
17 Oct 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion