New Study Shows Painkiller Can Increase Effectiveness of Morning-After Pill
A recent study published in the Lancet has revealed that women who take a painkilling tablet alongside the morning-after pill have a significantly lower risk of becoming pregnant compared to those who rely on emergency contraception alone. The findings have been hailed as a potential breakthrough in preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex.
The study, conducted by medical academics in Hong Kong and Sweden, involved a randomised controlled trial with 860 women who accessed the morning-after pill at a sexual and reproductive health service in Hong Kong between 2018 and 2022. The women were divided into two groups, with one group receiving a single 1.5mg dose of the morning-after pill levonorgestrel and a placebo, while the other group received the morning-after pill along with 40mg of piroxicam, an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat arthritis.
The results showed that the combination of levonorgestrel and piroxicam prevented 95% of pregnancies, while levonorgestrel alone only prevented 63% of pregnancies. This indicates that taking piroxicam alongside the morning-after pill significantly increases its efficacy in preventing pregnancy.
Levonorgestrel is one of the most widely used emergency contraception pills worldwide, along with ulipristal acetate. Both pills work by preventing or delaying ovulation and are not effective after ovulation has occurred. The study’s findings suggest that offering women both drugs as a routine practice could greatly improve the effectiveness of emergency contraception.
Dr Sue Lo, a co-investigator of the study, expressed excitement about the potential of the combined treatment, stating that it could be a game-changer for emergency contraception. She emphasized that levonorgestrel is a popular choice for emergency contraception in many parts of the world, and finding a widely available medication that enhances its efficacy is significant.
The study’s authors recommend that governments and health services consider changing their clinical practice policies to routinely offer both drugs to women who want to avoid pregnancy. The combination of levonorgestrel and piroxicam is easily and cheaply translatable into normal clinical practice, according to Richard Anderson, the Elsie Inglis professor of clinical reproductive science at Edinburgh University.
However, some experts caution that the study’s findings may not apply universally. Dr Erica Cahill from Stanford University’s medical school points out that the participants in the study were predominantly Asian and generally weighed less than 70kg. Therefore, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the combined treatment in different populations.
Nonetheless, the study’s results offer hope for improved emergency contraception options and highlight the importance of ongoing research in sexual and reproductive health. The potential breakthrough could make it easier for women to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex, providing them with more control over their reproductive choices.
What are the potential implications of these findings on the development of new and more effective emergency contraception methods
Onorgestrel, also known as Plan B or the morning-after pill, is a commonly used form of emergency contraception for women who have had unprotected sex. It works by preventing the release of an egg from the ovary or preventing fertilization of the egg by sperm. However, it is not 100% effective and there is still a risk of pregnancy.
The new study suggests that taking a painkilling tablet alongside the morning-after pill can significantly reduce the risk of pregnancy. The study involved over 800 women who accessed the morning-after pill at a sexual and reproductive health service in Hong Kong. The women were randomly divided into two groups, with one group receiving the morning-after pill alone and the other group receiving the morning-after pill along with a painkilling drug called piroxicam.
The results were striking. Women in the group that took the combination of levonorgestrel and piroxicam had a 95% lower risk of becoming pregnant compared to those who took levonorgestrel alone. This suggests that taking piroxicam alongside the morning-after pill can significantly increase its effectiveness in preventing pregnancy.
Piroxicam is an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat arthritis. It is not thought to have any direct effect on contraception, but the study suggests that it may have a synergistic effect when combined with the morning-after pill. The exact mechanism behind this is unclear and further research is needed to fully understand how it works.
These findings have the potential to be a breakthrough in preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex. If further research confirms the results, it could lead to a new and more effective method of emergency contraception. However, it is important to note that this study was conducted on a specific group of women and more research is needed to determine if the results apply to a wider population.
In conclusion, a recent study has shown that taking a painkilling tablet alongside the morning-after pill can significantly reduce the risk of pregnancy. This has the potential to be a major breakthrough in emergency contraception and could lead to improved options for women who have had unprotected sex.
Wow, this study could really benefit women by providing them with a more effective contraceptive option!