Safety
Significant adverse events in both cohorts were rare (Table 3).
Haemorrhage requiring transfusion was reported in 8 (0.04%) cases in
the traditional cohort and 7 (0.02%) cases in the telemedicine-hybrid
cohort. No cases of significant infection requiring hospital admission,
major surgery or death were reported. We found no evidence that
significant adverse events were higher in the telemedicine-hybrid cohort
(p=0.557).
The overall incidence of ectopic pregnancy was equivalent in both
cohorts, 39 (0.2%) in the traditional pathway and 49 (0.2%) in the
telemedicine pathway, p=0.796 (Table 4). The proportions managed after
EMA were not significantly different between the cohorts (0.01% in the
traditional pathway and 0.03% in the telemedicine-hybrid pathway,
p=0.123). There were 11 cases (0.04%) in the telemedicine-hybrid cohort
where the gestational age after abortion was reported as being greater
than the expected 10 weeks. In all these cases, the medical abortion was
completed at home without additional medical complications.