A comparative clinical trial of the contraceptive sponge and Neo Sampoon tablets

Neo Sampoon, a foaming vaginal tablet containing 60 mg of the spermicide menfegol, and the Collatex sponge (now marketed in the United States as the Today sponge), a dome-shaped polyurethane device that contains 1 g of nonoxynol-9, were compared in terms of effectiveness, safety, and acceptability. Both methods were new to the Maribor General Hospital, Yugoslavia, where the trial was conducted among 450 volunteers randomly assigned to one of the two methods. At 12 months, the life-table pregnancy rate per 100 women for the Neo Sampoon group was 12.8, compared with a rate of 10.4 among the sponge users (P greater than .10). After pregnancy, the second most frequent reason for termination was discomfort, with a 12-month termination rate due to this cause of 6.9 per 100 women in the Neo Sampoon group and 6.2 in the sponge group. Although fewer than a quarter of the volunteers had any experience with barrier methods before this trial, the life-table continuation rate was high in both groups, with more than 70% using their assigned method for the full 12 months. Also, upon conclusion of the study, 41% of the volunteers chose another barrier contraceptive method. Although the effectiveness of the sponge and Neo Sampoon is not comparable to that of the pill or IUD, both vaginal methods appear to be safe and acceptable additions to the range of contraceptive choices.