Peer-reviewedCC BY-NCInternational journal of women's health28 Oct 2026

E-Cervix Assessment of Cervical Softening During Medication Abortion: A Single-Center Observational Study.

Wan Li¹
Hongli Shi²
Hongmei Lian¹
Jiali Wang¹
Jie Duan¹

¹Department of Gynecology, Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
²Department of Obstetrics, Yichang Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Yichang, Hubei, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Background

Cervical softening is essential for successful medication abortion in early pregnancy, yet existing assessments do not adequately quantify biomechanical changes in cervical tissue. This study primarily aimed to characterize cervical changes before and after medication abortion using E-Cervix, with an exploratory secondary analysis of their association with cumulative carboprost methylate suppository dose.Methods

This single-center observational pre-post study included 91 women undergoing medication abortion in early pregnancy. All participants received the same mifepristone regimen, and the cumulative carboprost methylate dose ranged from 0.5 to 3.5 mg. Pre-post changes in six cervical parameters were evaluated, and baseline-adjusted linear regression was used to compare the 0.5-1 mg and >1 mg groups.Results

After medication abortion, ECI increased by 0.92 (95% CI, 0.68-1.16), HR decreased by 0.18 (95% CI, 0.15-0.20), IOS increased by 0.11 (95% CI, 0.08-0.13), and EOS increased by 0.08 (95% CI, 0.06-0.10); CL shortened, and the IOS/EOS ratio increased. The FDR-adjusted P values for all six comparisons were <0.05. The 0.5-1 mg and >1 mg groups included 68 and 23 participants, respectively; after baseline adjustment, dose group was not significantly associated with any post-treatment cervical parameter.Conclusions

E-Cervix quantitatively characterized multidimensional cervical softening during medication abortion, supporting its potential utility for objective assessment of cervical changes. In the exploratory observational dose analysis, no association was observed between higher cumulative carboprost methylate dose and greater cervical softening.

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Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{li2026ecervix,
  title = {{E-Cervix Assessment of Cervical Softening During Medication Abortion: A Single-Center Observational Study.}},
  author = {Wan Li and Hongli Shi and Hongmei Lian and Jiali Wang and Jie Duan},
  journal = {International journal of women's health},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.2147/ijwh.s644524},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42968964},
  note = {CC BY-NC},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - E-Cervix Assessment of Cervical Softening During Medication Abortion: A Single-Center Observational Study.
AU  - Wan Li
AU  - Hongli Shi
AU  - Hongmei Lian
AU  - Jiali Wang
AU  - Jie Duan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/28
JO  - International journal of women's health
DO  - 10.2147/ijwh.s644524
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42968964
AB  - Background  Cervical softening is essential for successful medication abortion in early pregnancy, yet existing assessments do not adequately quantify biomechanical changes in cervical tissue. This study primarily aimed to characterize cervical changes before and after medication abortion using E-Cervix, with an exploratory secondary analysis of their association with cumulative carboprost methylate suppository dose.Methods  This single-center observational pre-post study included 91 women undergoing medication abortion in early pregnancy. All participants received the same mifepristone regimen, and the cumulative carboprost methylate dose ranged from 0.5 to 3.5 mg. Pre-post changes in six cervical parameters were evaluated, and baseline-adjusted linear regression was used to compare the 0.5-1 mg and >1 mg groups.Results  After medication abortion, ECI increased by 0.92 (95% CI, 0.68-1.16), HR decreased by 0.18 (95% CI, 0.15-0.20), IOS increased by 0.11 (95% CI, 0.08-0.13), and EOS increased by 0.08 (95% CI, 0.06-0.10); CL shortened, and the IOS/EOS ratio increased. The FDR-adjusted P values for all six comparisons were <0.05. The 0.5-1 mg and >1 mg groups included 68 and 23 participants, respectively; after baseline adjustment, dose group was not significantly associated with any post-treatment cervical parameter.Conclusions  E-Cervix quantitatively characterized multidimensional cervical softening during medication abortion, supporting its potential utility for objective assessment of cervical changes. In the exploratory observational dose analysis, no association was observed between higher cumulative carboprost methylate dose and greater cervical softening.
SN  - 1179-1411
ER  -

Abstract

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