No abstract

Objective To compare the use of 600 and 200 mg mifepristone prior to second trimester termination of pregnancy with the prostaglandin misoprostol. Design A randomised study. Setting A Scottish teaching hospital. Participants Seventy women undergoing legal induced abortion between 13 and 20 weeks of gestation. Intervention Administration of either 600 or 200 mg mifepristone 36 to 48 hours prior to prostaglandin. Main outcome measure Induction‐abortion interval. Results The geometric mean induction abortion interval was 6.9 (95 % CI 5.8–8.4) h and 6.9 (95 % CI 5.8–8.2) h in the 600 and 200 mg groups, respectively (no significant difference). The median dose of misoprostol was 1600 pg (three doses) in each group. Analgesic requirements and prostaglandin‐related side effects were similar between groups. Overall, 11‐4% of women required surgical evacuation of the uterus as a result of retained placenta. Conclusions The dose of mifepristone used in second trimester abortion can be reduced from 600 to 200 mg.

The 23rd World Scout Jamboree was held in Japan from 28 July to 8 August 2015 and was attended by over 33,000 scouts from 162 countries. An outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease capsular group W was investigated among participants, with four confirmed cases identified in Scotland, who were all associated with one particular scout unit, and two confirmed cases in Sweden; molecular testing showed the same strain to be responsible for illness in both countries. The report describes the public health action taken to prevent further cases and the different decisions reached with respect to how wide to extend the offer of chemoprophylaxis in the two countries; in Scotland, chemoprophylaxis was offered to the unit of 40 participants to which the four cases belonged and to other close contacts of cases, while in Sweden chemoprophylaxis was offered to all those returning from the Jamboree. The report also describes the international collaboration and communication required to investigate and manage such multinational outbreaks in a timely manner.

No abstract