An open-label, multicenter, noncomparative safety and efficacy study of Mircette™, a low-dose estrogen-progestin oral contraceptive

• Published in: American journal of obstetrics and gynecology Vol. 179; no. 1; pp. S2 - S8
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mosby, Inc 01.07.1998
• Subjects: Desogestrel; ethinyl estradiol; Mircette; oral contraceptives; oral contraceptives; Mircette; Desogestrel; ethinyl estradiol
• ISSN: 0002-9378
• DOI: 10.1016/S0002-9378(98)70290-X

OBJECTIVE: The primary efficacy and safety of Mircette™ (brand of desogestrel/ethinyl estradiol and ethinyl estradiol), an oral contraceptive containing 150 μg desogestrel and 20 μg ethinyl estradiol given for 21 days, followed by 2 days of placebo and then 5 days 10 μg ethinyl estradiol, was evaluated. STUDY DESIGN: In a large, open-label, 18-month, multicenter trial, a total of 1143 of 1250 healthy female subjects contributed to the determination of extent of exposure, for an equivalent of 1080.8 woman-years of use. RESULTS: Absence of withdrawal bleeding occurred in 5.5% of total cycles and intermenstrual bleeding occurred in 12.0% of total cycles. Breakthrough spotting was more common than breakthrough bleeding. The Pearl Index for total pregnancies during treatment was 1.02/100 woman-years. Fewer than 3% of subjects discontinued study participation, primarily because of menstrual problems, indicating that Mircette™ was an oral contraceptive acceptable to the women studied. Overall 73.6% of all subjects reported one or more adverse events, and a total of 43.9% of subjects reported drug-related adverse events. The most common drug-related adverse events reported included headache (8.5%), breast pain (7.3%), dysmenorrhea (4.2%), and menstrual disorder (4.2%). There were no reports of venous thromboembolic events or of significant changes in blood pressure, lipid metabolism, or serum glucose level. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed that Mircette™ is a safe and efficacious oral contraceptive that is well tolerated and acceptable to women who have previously used oral contraceptives, as well as first-time users. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998;179:S2-8.)