A group of researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK), and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has found a way to make the morning-after pill work better.
Their study, published in The Lancet, tested a common arthritis painkiller to see if it could help prevent pregnancy more effectively when taken with the emergency contraceptive pill.
Emergency contraception is used to lower the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex or when a regular birth control method fails. It comes in two forms: a pill or a copper intrauterine device (IUD).
One of the most widely used pills is levonorgestrel, a type of hormone that prevents or delays ovulation. It has been available for many years, but like all contraceptives, it does not work 100% of the time. This is why scientists are looking for ways to improve it.
In this study, researchers focused on a substance in the body called prostaglandin. This substance plays an important role in many biological processes, including ovulation and implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus. The researchers thought that blocking prostaglandin production might improve the effectiveness of emergency contraception.
To test this idea, they conducted a clinical trial using piroxicam, a painkiller commonly prescribed for arthritis. Piroxicam is a type of drug called a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which reduces inflammation and blocks prostaglandin production.
The scientists wanted to see if taking piroxicam along with the levonorgestrel pill could prevent more pregnancies than taking levonorgestrel alone.
They designed a controlled study where 836 women took emergency contraception after unprotected sex. Half of them took levonorgestrel with piroxicam, while the other half took levonorgestrel with a placebo (a pill with no active ingredients).
The results were striking. Only one woman out of 418 who took the combination of levonorgestrel and piroxicam became pregnant. In contrast, seven out of 418 women who took levonorgestrel with the placebo became pregnant.
This means that the pregnancy prevention rate was 94.7% for the group that took both medications, compared to 63.4% for those who took levonorgestrel alone. This is a significant improvement.
The researchers also looked at side effects. They found no major differences between the two groups in terms of menstrual changes or stomach discomfort, which are common side effects of emergency contraception. This suggests that adding piroxicam does not cause additional problems for women who take it.
Dr. Raymond Li Hang-wun from HKUMed, who led the study, explained that their findings could lead to changes in medical guidelines. If more research confirms these results, piroxicam could become a recommended addition to emergency contraception, making it more effective for women worldwide.
Dr. Sue Lo Seen-tsing from FPAHK added that in Hong Kong, emergency contraceptive pills have been available since 2002 but must be prescribed by a healthcare professional. She emphasized that while emergency contraception is useful, it should not replace regular birth control methods.
Women who use emergency contraception should also have follow-up care to ensure they are not pregnant and to discuss long-term birth control options.
Review and Analysis
This study offers promising news for people who need emergency contraception. The biggest takeaway is that adding a simple and widely available painkiller can significantly improve the effectiveness of the levonorgestrel pill.
This is important because emergency contraception is not always 100% reliable, and any improvement can help prevent unintended pregnancies.
The study was well-designed, as it was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial—the gold standard for medical research. The large sample size (over 800 women) strengthens the findings. The results suggest that piroxicam is a safe and effective addition to emergency contraception, as it increased pregnancy prevention rates without adding more side effects.
However, this was only one study. More research is needed to confirm these results in different populations and settings. Future studies should also examine whether other NSAIDs (not just piroxicam) might have similar effects. If these findings hold up, medical guidelines could change, making emergency contraception more effective worldwide.
For now, this study provides valuable new information and a potential way to improve emergency contraception for women who need it.
If you care about health, please read studies that vitamin D can help reduce inflammation, and vitamin K could lower your heart disease risk by a third.
For more health information, please see recent studies about new way to halt excessive inflammation, and results showing foods that could cause inflammation.
The research findings can be found in The Lancet.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
