Clinical experience with triphasic oral contraceptive (Triquilar) in 527 women in China

From October 1987 to May 1989, a total number of 527 women completed a total of 6,291 treatment cycles in 6 centers in China for the study of a triphasic oral contraceptive - Triquilar. The mean age of subjects was 30.21 +/- 2.84 years. There were 7 pregnancies during the study period. Among them, five were patient failures because of missed pill or incorrect intake; one had taken barbiturates along with Triquilar. Only one woman became pregnant in the 11th treatment cycle without any reason being found. In most cases, menstrual flow decreased and dysmenorrhea improved as treatment continued. Of the total treatment cycles, the incidence of missed withdrawal bleeding was 0.25%, spotting 0.97%, and breakthrough bleeding 0.48%. Nausea and vomiting was the most common side effect and accounted for 6.4% of the total treatment cycles. This was followed by breast tenderness (3.7%), dizziness (2.4%) and headache (1.6%). Most of the side effects occurred during the first few cycles and were alleviated later. By the end of one year, the total dropout was 64 cases. The reasons for discontinuing treatment were: pregnancy 1.33 (per hundred women), menstrual disturbances 0.76, side effects 3.80, other medical reasons 2.09, and personal reasons 4.18. The results confirm that Triquilar is an effective oral contraceptive with good cycle control and low incidence of side effects. No serious reaction has been reported. It has been well accepted by the Chinese women. However, due to the low dosage of steroids, it is of utmost importance to avoid errors in its use.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)