LONDON (AP) — Taking a standard arthritis drug along with the morning-after tablet Plan B might enhance the contraceptive’s effectiveness, in keeping with new analysis revealed Wednesday.

Levonorgestrel, usually referred to as Plan B, is probably the most broadly obtainable kind of emergency contraception. It works by stopping or delaying ovulation.

Scientists estimate that it's about 95% efficient when taken inside a day after unprotected intercourse, dropping to 58% or decrease inside three days. The new research, revealed by the medical journal Lancet, suggests levonorgestrel can stay extremely efficient as much as three days after unprotected intercourse when it's taken with piroxicam, an anti-inflammatory ache remedy sometimes prescribed for arthritis.

“It’s really exciting and very timely that we could have a more effective emergency contraceptive option,” mentioned Kelly Cleland, government director for the American Society for Emergency Contraception, who was not a part of the Lancet research.

Scientists tracked 836 girls at a Hong Kong clinic between 2018 and 2022 who had unprotected intercourse and requested emergency contraception inside three days. Half the ladies acquired a dose of levonorgestrel and piroxicam whereas the opposite half bought the contraceptive tablet plus a placebo.

Doctors calculated that 95% of pregnancies among the many girls who bought the mixture with piroxicam had been prevented, in contrast with 63% of those that bought the placebo mixture.

The commonest unwanted side effects in each teams had been fatigue, nausea, stomach ache, dizziness and headache. No funding was supplied for the research. The researchers used a Hong Kong model of the contraceptive that it's offered over-the-counter within the U.S. beneath a number of names, together with Plan B One-Step.

The authors acknowledged that as a result of the analysis was achieved in principally Asian girls weighing lower than 70 kilograms (154 kilos), it was unclear if the outcomes could possibly be extrapolated to different populations. There is a few proof levonorgestrel doesn’t work as effectively in heavier girls.

Piroxicam is in the identical class of anti-inflammatories as ibuprofen and paracetamol. It requires a prescription in lots of nations, together with the U.S. and the U.Ok.

“It’s fascinating that they found this already existing medication really increases the efficacy of Plan B,” mentioned Dr. Beverly Gray, a Duke University affiliate professor of obstetrics and gynecology who was not a part of the brand new research. “But any medication that requires a prescription is going to be one more barrier, so what we really need is an over-the-counter medication that people can use in conjunction with Plan B.”

Dr. Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, head of Women and Children’s Health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and one of many Lancet research authors, mentioned related anti-inflammatory medication might have the identical impact. She mentioned there could be no danger to girls who took over-the-counter ibuprofen with Plan B, although it won't show as efficient as longer-acting piroxicam.

Piroxicam could cause bleeding within the abdomen or extreme pores and skin reactions and will increase the danger of coronary heart or kidney illness in folks inclined to these situations. Still, consultants mentioned utilizing the drug as soon as could be much less prone to trigger hurt, significantly for the principally youthful girls who could be probably to make use of emergency contraception.

Gemzell-Danielsson mentioned additional research might look at whether or not anti-inflammatories enhance the effectiveness of the opposite principal emergency contraceptive tablet, ellaOne.

She beneficial that girls maintain some type of emergency contraception at residence, particularly in locations with extremely restrictive abortion insurance policies.

“It is a simple, effective and really smart solution to have,” Gemzell-Danielsson mentioned. “You don’t buy (Band-Aids) because you plan to cut yourself, but you have it because you think it might happen.”

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