Ectopic pregnancy following oral levonorgestrel emergency contraception use

Yohei Kitani, Tatsuya Ishiguro, Akiko Kobayashi, Ryo Tamura, Haruka Ueda, Sosuke Adachi, Nobumichi Nishikawa, Masayuki Sekine, Takayuki Enomoto
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research · 2018 · vol. 45(2) , pp. 473–476 · doi:10.1111/jog.13815 · PMID:30246476 · W2894313729
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This case report describes a woman who experienced two ectopic pregnancies after using oral levonorgestrel emergency contraception, highlighting the importance of considering patient risk factors and menstrual cycle stage.

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Abstract

Levonorgestrel is used worldwide as an emergency oral contraceptive. There have been occasional reports of ectopic pregnancy after oral levonorgestrel use. We present a case of ectopic tubal pregnancy after the use of oral levonorgestrel as an emergency contraceptive in a 37-year-old woman with a history of treatment for Chlamydia trachomatis infection. She conceived after sexual intercourse on menstrual day 14 of the first menstrual cycle following a normal delivery. After salpingectomy for this right tubal pregnancy, her following pregnancy was an ectopic pregnancy in the contralateral tube, which was treated with laparoscopic salpingectomy. Histopathological examination revealed endometriosis. We should be aware of ectopic pregnancy even after emergency contraceptive use, especially in patients with risk factors, such as Chlamydia infection and endometriosis. Because the efficacy of levonorgestrel decreases after ovulation, we should check the stage of the cycle before prescription.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Contraception, Postcoital Contraceptive Agents, Female Endometriosis Levonorgestrel Pregnancy, Ectopic Adult Contraceptive Agents, Female Endometriosis Female Humans Levonorgestrel Pregnancy Pregnancy, Ectopic

Citation neighborhood (sparse)

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Cites (2)

References (17)

Source provenance

europepmc
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License: CC0 · commercial use OK