Julia McTaggart’s research while affiliated with Karolinska Institutet and other places

Objective: To assess the Pearl Index for risk of ectopic pregnancy in women using levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine systems (LNG-IUS) with hormonal reservoirs of 13.5 mg, 19.5 mg, or 52 mg. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Women diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy in Stockholm County, Sweden, between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2019, were identified through the electronic medical record system. The final analysis included 2,252 cases of ectopic pregnancy. Information on age, reproductive and medical history, as well as current use of contraception was retrieved. The time of intrauterine device (IUD) insertion before ectopic pregnancy and the numbers of sold LNG-IUS during the study period were used to calculate the incidence rate for ectopic pregnancy during use per 100 woman-years (Pearl Index). Results: Among women with an ectopic pregnancy diagnosis, 105 presented with a known type of hormonal IUD in situ, of whom 94 were included in the calculations of the Pearl Index. The estimated Pearl Index for ectopic pregnancy was 0.136 (95% CI 0.106-0.176) for the LNG-IUS 13.5-mg, 0.037 (95% CI 0.021-0.067) for the LNG-IUS 19.5-mg, and 0.009 (95% CI 0.006-0.014) for the LNG-IUS 52-mg. With the 52-mg LNG-IUS as referent, the relative risk (RR) for ectopic pregnancy was higher during the first year for LNG 13.5-mg (RR 20.59, 95% CI 12.04-35.21), and for both 13.5-mg (RR 14.49, 95% CI 9.01-23.3) and 19.5-mg (RR 4.44, 95% CI 1.64-12.00) during the total study period. Conclusion: The absolute risk of ectopic pregnancy during the use of LNG-IUS at any doses was low. The results show that the lower the dose of the IUD, the higher the risk of an ectopic pregnancy. Higher-dose LNG-IUS should be considered when providing contraceptive counseling to a woman with known risk factors for ectopic pregnancy who are considering a hormonal IUD.

Objectives: Approximately, 1–2% of all pregnancies are ectopic; 25% of unintended pregnancies are conceived despite the use of contraception. The primary objective of our study was to explore the proportion of ectopic pregnancies (EPs) that were conceived during contraceptive use among women in Stockholm County. Secondary objectives were to establish the prevalence of contraceptive methods used at the time of EP and the intended contraceptive method after treatment completion. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1180 women diagnosed with and treated for EP between 1 December 2013 and 30 April 2017 at all hospitals in Stockholm County. Demographic variables and contraceptive use before and after treatment were noted. Exclusion criteria were uncertainty about the diagnosis of EP in the patient records and planned treatment/follow-up outside Stockholm County. Results: A total of 222/1180 (18.8%) EPs were conceived during known contraceptive use. A total of 112/222 (50.5%) women with known use of contraception at the time of conception discontinued contraceptive use and 81/857 (9.5%) women with no prior use of contraception initiated contraceptive use. Among the 857 women, 520 (60.7%) expressed a desire to conceive. Results were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Conclusion: EP occurring during use of contraception is an unexplored problem. Contraceptive use decreased in women who were using contraception at the time of EP conception, leaving these women at risk of a subsequent unintended pregnancy. There should be more focus on contraceptive use after treatment for EP, in order to preserve fertility.