29 Jun Are Abortions Safer in Ambulatory Surgery Centers Than Medical Offices?

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Roberts

Sarah CM Roberts, DrPH
Associate Professor
ObGyn&RS
Zuckerberg San Francisco General
UCSF

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Thirteen states have laws that require abortions to be provided in Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs); many of these laws apply only in the second trimester.  We examined outcomes from more than 50,000 abortions provided in two facility types:  Ambulatory Surgery Centers and office-based settings.

We found that there was no significant difference in abortion-related complications across facility type; in both settings, about 3.3% had any complication and about 0.3% had a major complication.  There also was no significant difference in complications across facility types for second trimester and later abortions.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: There is no significant difference in abortion-related complications between abortions provided in Ambulatory Surgery Centers v. office-based settings. This finding is consistent with other research that has compared the safety of procedures across ASCs v. office-based settings. Thus, laws that require that abortions – including second trimester abortions – be provided in ASCs are not evidence-based.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work? 

Response: Future research should examine the costs associated with providing abortions in both Ambulatory Surgery Centers and office-based settings.

Disclosures: None of the authors have any disclosures to report.

Citation:

Roberts SCM, Upadhyay UD, Liu G, et al. Association of Facility Type With Procedural-Related Morbidities and Adverse Events Among Patients Undergoing Induced Abortions. JAMA. 2018;319(24):2497–2506. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.7675

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Last Updated on June 29, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD