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Levonorgestrel May Be Better Emergency-Contraceptive Pill LONDON, ENGLAND -- Aug. 7, 1998 -- The Yuzpe regimen of oral contraceptives is the most common form of emergency contraception. When started within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse, the Yuzpe regimen prevents about 75 percent of pregnancies that would otherwise have occurred. However, about 50 percent of women report nausea and over 20 percent vomit after taking it. Past research has shown that a type of hormone, levonorgestrel -- which is part of the Yuzpe regimen-might on its own be a better emergency contraceptive. To investigate this finding among larger numbers of women, Dr. Helena von Hertzen and Dr. Paul Van Look and colleagues from the World Health Organization, Switzerland, with an international team of scientists, compared the two regimens. They report their findings in this week's issue of The Lancet. The investigators enrolled 1,998 women at 21 centres world-wide. The women were young (average age 27 years), healthy and had requested emergency contraception after one act of unprotected intercourse no longer than 72 hours before treatment started. Women received either levonorgestrel (0.75 mg, repeated 12 hours later) or the Yuzpe regimen (100 µg ethinylestradiol plus 0.5 mg levonorgestrel, repeated 12 hours later). Of the 1,955 women for whom results were available, the pregnancy rate was 3.2 percent (31/979) in the Yuzpe group and only 1.1 percent (11/976) in the levonorgestrel group. The proportion of pregnancies prevented (compared with the expected number without treatment) was 57 percent in the Yuzpe group and 85 percent in the levonorgestrel group. Nausea and vomiting were significantly less frequent with the levonorgestrel regimen than with the Yuzpe regimen. "The levonorgestrel regimen was better tolerated and more effective than the current standard in hormonal emergency contraception", the investigators write. "With either regimen, the earlier the treatment is given, the more effective it seems to be". Related Links: The Lancet E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version