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Cycle control with desogestrel-containing oral contraceptives--comparison of a monophasic and triphasic regimen
1Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, University of Texas, Dallas.
Objective:
To examine the effect of mono- and triphasic desogestrel-containing oral contraceptives on cycle control.
Setting:
Multicenter, international (U.S. and Canada).
Patients And Interventions:
About 4,000 women, aged 18-35, healthy, neither pregnant nor lactating, were followed for almost 37,700 cycles of use of a monophasic 150 micrograms desogestrel/30 micrograms ethinyl estradiol OC or Sunday- or day-1 start regimens of a triphasic preparation containing 50/100/150 micrograms desogestrel/35/30/30 micrograms ethinyl estradiol administered on a 7/7/7 schedule. Standard diary methods were used to collect data on breakthrough bleeding, spotting, and absence of withdrawal bleeding.
Results:
The two formulations demonstrated very low and, in fact, remarkably similar rates of breakthrough bleeding, spotting, and absence of withdrawal bleeding. A statistical analysis of these characteristics of the total study populations, per cycle, revealed no statistically significant differences between the formulations.
Conclusion:
Although the triphasic formulation contains the lowest estrogen dose of any triphasic available, 33% less progestin than the monophasic formulation, it maintains comparable cycle control.