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Contraception - Management
UK Medical Eligibility Criteria for use of barrier methods (male and female condoms, diaphragms and cervical caps)
The UK Medical Eligibility Criteria are a set of evidence-based recommendations designed to help women select the most appropriate method of contraception for specific clinical conditions without imposing necessary restrictions [FFPRHC, 2006a]. Each clinical condition has a recommendation for contraceptive use, categorized according to the balance of benefits and harms weighted by their probabilities for the typical user with the condition. The categories are defined in Table 1.
Table 1. UK Medical Eligibility Criteria (UKMEC).
Category | Definition |
|---|
UKMEC 1 | A condition for which there is no restriction for the use of the contraceptive method. |
UKMEC 2 | A condition where the advantages of using the method generally outweigh the theoretical or proven risks. |
UKMEC 3 | A condition where the theoretical or proven risks usually outweigh the advantages of using the method. Provision of a method to a woman with a condition given a UKMEC Category 3 requires expert clinical judgement and/or referral to a specialist contraceptive provider since use of the method is not usually recommended unless other methods are not available or not acceptable. |
UKMEC 4 | A condition which represents an unacceptable health risk if the contraceptive method is used. |
|
- The UK Medical Eligibility Criteria for male condoms:
- All conditions are categorized as UKMEC 1 (no restriction), except for:
- Latex sensitivity, which is categorized as UKMEC 3.
- The UK Medical Eligibility Criteria for female condoms:
- All conditions are categorized as UKMEC 1.
- The UK Medical Eligibility Criteria for female barrier methods (diaphragm, cervical cap):
- All conditions are categorized as UKMEC 1 (no restriction), except for:
- Parity > 0, which is categorized as UKMEC 2.
- Valvular and congenital heart disease, complicated (e.g. with pulmonary hypertension, atrial fibrillation, history of subacute bacterial endocarditis), which is categorized as UKMEC 2.
- At high risk of HIV. or infected with HIV, or with AIDS, which are categorized as UKMEC 3.
- History of toxic shock syndrome,, which is categorized as UKMEC 3.
- Urinary tract infection, which is categorized as UKMEC 2.
- Latex sensitivity, which is categorized as UKMEC 3.
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