Thailand has been implementing since 2000 by the Population Council, Thailand Office, in collaboration with Gynuity Health Project, USA, began using misoprostol (Cytotec) to treat incomplete abortion in clients with a gestational age not exceeding 63 days.
Later in 2004, the Population Council, in collaboration with Gynuity Health Project, USA, and the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital and Health Promotion Hospital, Health Center 8 Nakhon Sawan
introduced mifepristone (Ru486) to be used in conjunction with misoprostol (Cytotec) in clinical research to terminate early pregnancy in those with a gestational age not exceeding 63 days or not exceeding 9 weeks. The study results showed that
the use of mifepristone in conjunction with misoprostol can effectively terminate first-trimester pregnancy, is safe, and is quite acceptable to clients in Thailand, and also reduces the need for procedures.
Between April 2012 and April 2013, the Bureau of Reproductive Health, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the Concept Foundation, academic networks, and civil society networks initiated a study on the use of medication to terminate pregnancy in the health service system by studying the Medabon regimen, which consists of 200 mg mifepristone, 1 tablet, and 200 mcg misoprostol, 4 tablets, packaged togetherconducted operational research on the medication abortion service system and coordinated the registration of the drug simultaneously to evaluate the best model for providing abortion services in the context of Thai society
in accessing the medication, starting the study in 3 medical schools, including the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, and Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, and in collaboration with Health Promotion Hospital, Health Center 6, Khon Kaen Province, under the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, another 1 place.
The study found that
- There were 197 clients with complete abortion, accounting for 95.17%
- Incomplete abortion in 8 cases, accounting for 3.86%
- Unable to follow up for 2 cases, accounting for 0.97%
When calculating the effectiveness of the medication by calculating from the total number of clients who completely terminated the pregnancy using the medication divided by the number of clients who followed up after using the medication, it was found that the effectiveness of the medication used in Phase 1 study was 96.09%
Later, the Concept Foundation, in collaboration with the Bureau of Reproductive Health, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, academic networks, and civil society, expanded the study project to 5 more places in the provinces to study the feasibility of using the medication in the public health service system in Thailand at various hospital levels. The 5 hospitals expanded to include Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, Nan Hospital, Phrae Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, and Songklanagarind Hospital.
The study found that
- 198 clients had complete abortion, accounting for 88.79%
- Incomplete abortion in 21 cases, accounting for 9.42%
- Unable to follow up for 4 cases, accounting for 1.79%
When calculating the effectiveness of the medication by calculating from the total number of clients who completely terminated the pregnancy using the medication divided by the number of clients who followed up after using the medication, it was found that the effectiveness of the medication was approximately 90.41%