Attendance at post-abortal follow-up visits is low - can the risks of non-attendance be identified?

Post-abortal follow-up visits are recommended following induced abortion. To assess the rates of attendance and the factors affecting it, we performed a retrospective study of 500 women who had an induced abortion up to 20 weeks of gestation. Altogether, 285 (57%) women attended for the follow-up visit as scheduled. In univariable analysis a history of drug abuse (OR=0.22, 95%CI 0.06-0.81, p=0.02) was associated with non-attendance. Women who underwent medical abortion either at the hospital (OR=3.93, 95%CI 2.61-5.92, p<0.01) or partly at home (OR=3.30, 95%CI 1.86-5.84, p<0.01) and those with a history of human papilloma virus manifestation (OR=2.38, 95%CI 1.04-5.26, p=0.04) were more likely to attend the follow-up visit. The effects of medical abortion and a history of human papilloma virus manifestation persisted in multivariable analysis. We conclude that attendance at post-abortal follow-up visits is low, with only a few clinically significant risk factors predicting non-attendance.