Contraceptive efficacy, compliance and beyond: Factors related to satisfaction with once-weekly transdermal compared with oral contraception

• Published in: European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology Vol. 121; no. 2; pp. 202 - 210
• Main Authors: Urdl, Wolfgang, Apter, Dan, Alperstein, Alan, Koll, Peter, Schönian, Siegfried, Bringer, Jacques, Fisher, Alan C., Preik, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.08.2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Administration, Cutaneous; Administration, Oral; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Compliance; Contraceptive Agents, Female - administration & dosage; Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal - administration & dosage; Drug Administration Schedule; Efficacy; Female; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Medical sciences; Oral contraceptive; Patient Compliance; Patient Satisfaction; Safety; Satisfaction; Transdermal contraceptive patch; Treatment Outcome; Efficacy; Oral contraceptive; Safety; Compliance; Transdermal contraceptive patch; Satisfaction; Transdermal system; Toxicity; Treatment efficiency; Gynecology; Oral administration; Contraception; Transdermal contraceptive parch; Obstetrics; Percutaneous route; Weekly; Contraceptive; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0301-2115; 1872-7654
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2005.01.021

To investigate contraceptive efficacy, compliance and user's satisfaction with transdermal versus oral contraception (OC). Study design: Randomized, open-label, parallel-group trial conducted at 65 centers in Europe and South Africa. One thousand four hundred and eighty-nine women received a contraceptive patch ( n = 846) or an OC ( n = 643) for 6 or 13 cycles. Overall/method-failure Pearl Indices were 0.88/0.66 with the patch and 0.56/0.28 with the OC ( p = n.s.). Compliance was higher at all age groups with the patch compared to the OC. Significantly more users were very satisfied with the contraceptive patch than with the OC. The percentage of patch users being very satisfied increased with age whereas it did not in the OC group. Likewise, improvements of premenstrual symptoms as well as emotional and physical well-being increased with age in the patch-group in contrast to the OC group. Ratings of satisfaction with the study medication correlated weakly with emotional ( r = 0.33) and physical well-being ( r = 0.39) as well as premenstrual symptoms ( r = 0.30; p < 0.001). Contraceptive efficacy of the patch is comparable to OC, but compliance is consistently better at all age groups. Higher satisfaction with the patch at increasing age may be attributed to improvements in emotional and physical well-being as well as reduction of premenstrual symptoms.