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Regarding the findings in this article, would it be possible for an antibiotic to be included with the RU-486 package to prevent a Clostridium sordellii infection? Like millions of other people, I have to take an antibiotic prior to dental procedures to prevent the very rare possibility of an infection in my heart, and it would seem the same kind of preventive measure could be used with RU-486 (mifepristone).

Gillian Mello
San Leandro, Calif.

A Food and Drug Administration Web site states: “At this time FDA does not have sufficient information to recommend the use of preventive antibiotics for all women undergoing [RU-486] abortion. . . .Preventive antibiotic use carries its own risk of serious adverse events such as severe or fatal allergic reactions [and] the growth of ‘superbugs,’ bacteria resistant to everyday antibiotics.” Researcher Marc Fisher adds that “there is no evidence at this time that antibiotics would be effective in preventing potential C. sordellii infections following [RU-486] abortion.” —N. Seppa