Combining anti-inflammatory drug with the morning after pill boosts effectiveness, study finds

A combination of levonorgestrel—known as “plan B” or the “morning after pill”—and the anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam is more effective in preventing pregnancy compared with levonorgestrel alone, according to a randomised controlled trial.1

The study involved 860 women who sought emergency contraception within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse at a major community sexual and reproductive health service in Hong Kong between 2018 and 2022. The results, published in the Lancet, showed that the combination regimen prevented 94.7% of expected pregnancies, compared with 63.4% with levonorgestrel alone.

Lead author Raymond Li, clinical associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s department of obstetrics and gynaecology, said, “Our study is the first to suggest that a readily available and safe drug taken at the same time as the levonorgestrel pill can prevent more pregnancies than levonorgestrel alone. We hope these results will lead to …