title: Effectiveness of emergency contraception in women after sexual assault.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effectiveness of emergency single-dose levonorgestrel contraception in preventing unintended pregnancies among woman who visited the emergency department (ED) due to sexual assault (SA).
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective chart review in a university hospital in South Korea. Cases from November 10, 2006 to November 9, 2009 were enrolled. Information from the initial visit to the ED and subsequent follow-up visits to the gynecology outpatient clinic was collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1,179 women visited the ED due to SA. Among them, 416 patients had a gynecological examination and 302 patients who received emergency contraception (EC) (1.5 mg single-dose levonorgestrel) at the ED due to SA were enrolled. Ten patients did not return for follow-up examinations. In follow-up visits at the outpatient clinic, two pregnancies were confirmed, which showed the failure rate of the EC to be 0.68%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Single-dose levonorgestrel EC is extremely effective at preventing pregnancy among victims of SA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Seok
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Miran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kyung Joo
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Kyoung Mi
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tae Wook
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kong
keywords: Emergency contraception; Levonorgestrel; Sexual assault