Loading...
The standard for emergency contraception is 2 doses of oral contraceptives (0.1-mg ethinylestradiol and 0.5-mg levonorgestrel) taken 12 hours apart. Recent studies have demonstrated that treatment with two 0.75-mg doses of levonorgestrel 12 hours apart is better tolerated and more effective than the standard approach. Many physicians in the U.S. have been awaiting the availability of mifepristone (RU 486) as an alternative. This World Health Organization-sponsored study compared low-dose mifepristone with 1-dose or 2-dose levonorgestrel in nearly 4000 women in 10 countries.
Women who presented to 15 family-planning clinics requesting emergency contraception within 5 days of unprotected intercourse were randomized to 10-mg mifepristone, 1 dos…