Induced Fetal Demise Prior to Later Medication Abortion: A Qualitative Study of Women's Experience With Digoxin Injection.

BACKGROUND

Recent evidence suggests that providers who continue to use digoxin for induced fetal demise prior to later medication abortion should consider patient preferences in how they offer digoxin and consider tools to ensure patient understanding. This study aimed to qualitatively determine patients' experiences with induced fetal demise using digoxin injection prior to later medication abortion.

METHODS

This was a qualitative study of women who had induced fetal demise with digoxin injection prior to later medication abortion in Ethiopia, in 2023. The participants were interviewed about physical and emotional experiences with digoxin and their understanding of its purpose in the immediate post-abortion period, before they were discharged from the hospital. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis on One Code software.

RESULTS

A total of 20 participants were included in this study. The two overarching themes identified from the qualitative interviews were as follows: (1) emotional discomfort and varied understanding of digoxin's purpose; (2) digoxin injection-related physical discomfort. Participants had a shared feeling of discomfort carrying a demised fetus after digoxin administration till the abortion process was completed. A significant proportion of them (8/20, 40%) described induced fetal demise as a procedure to shorten the abortion process.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings of some patients' physical and emotional discomforts of digoxin injection to induce fetal demise in our study are consistent with findings in previous qualitative studies.