Assessment of the manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) equipment in the management of incomplete abortion.

In a study to assess the efficacy of and safety of vacuum aspiration syringe in the management of incomplete abortion 300 patients with non septic abortion were evacuated by the method in the ward. A control group 285 patients was evacuated in theatre by sharp currettage. All patients were followed up for 21 days. 54.7% of the study patients were evacuated without any need for analgesia while all the control patients were given intravenous pethidine and valium. 2.3% of vacuum aspiration and 3.5% of control patients needed revacuation (p greater than 0.05). 70.3% of vacuum aspiration cases were dry by day 7 compared to 64.6% of the control group (p greater than 0.05). Immediate complications of nausea and vomiting were seen in 5.3% study patients (p less than 0.001). There was one uterine perforation in the control group. 5.4% of study and 6.0 of control patients developed mild to severe sepsis (p greater than 0.05). Vacuum aspiration is a safe, simple and quick method of treating incomplete abortion. Its wider use in developing countries is highly recommended.