Oral emergency contraception with levonorgestrel plus piroxicam: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01240-0/fulltext?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=270590419&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9AetUGUr3yEGZhe4FuRzMm8TBCgPjCaD2oeXOGUwxCsl3sO8wrLmnLaKoyT6gXmGDTtmAUKSQtMxHlp2M8RX2iY_iM7w&utm_content=270590417&utm_source=hs_email Adding anti-inflammatory med to morning-after pill improves effectiveness, study suggests Given greater restriction in the U.S. on abortion, renewed attention is being paid to contraception, including morning-after pills. A new study in The Lancet shows how a common emergency contraceptive pill was more effective at preventing pregnancy when combined with an anti-inflammatory medication usually prescribed for arthritis pain. The randomized clinical trial studied 860 women at a Hong Kong clinic who requested emergency contraception within 72 hours after unprotected sex. Half took the levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive pill with the NSAID piroxicam and half took the contraceptive pill with a placebo. After two weeks, one woman in the levonorgestrel-piroxicam group became pregnant while seven in the control group did, for an effectiveness rate of 95% for the two-pill regimen and 63% for levonorgestrel and placebo, based on an estimated pregnancy rate without contraception of 4.5%. The authors speculate that piroxicam may block the ovulatory process and also prevent embryo implantation.Adding anti-inflammatory med to morning-after pill improves effectiveness, study suggests Given greater restriction in the U.S. on abortion, renewed attention is being paid to contraception, including morning-after pills. A new study in The Lancet shows how a common emergency contraceptive pill was more effective at preventing pregnancy when combined with an anti-inflammatory medication usually prescribed for arthritis pain. The randomized clinical trial studied 860 women at a Hong Kong clinic who requested emergency contraception within 72 hours after unprotected sex. Half took the levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive pill with the NSAID piroxicam and half took the contraceptive pill with a placebo. After two weeks, one woman in the levonorgestrel-piroxicam group became pregnant while seven in the control group did, for an effectiveness rate of 95% for the two-pill regimen and 63% for levonorgestrel and placebo, based on an estimated pregnancy rate without contraception of 4.5%. The authors speculate that piroxicam may block the ovulatory process and also prevent embryo implantation.