An open-label, multicenter, noncomparative safety and efficacy study of Mircette, a low-dose estrogen-progestin oral contraceptive. The Mircette Study Group.
OBJECTIVE
The primary efficacy and safety of Mircette (brand of desogestrel/ethinyl estradiol and ethinyl estradiol), an oral contraceptive containing 150 microg desogestrel and 20 microg ethinyl estradiol given for 21 days, followed by 2 days of placebo and then 5 days 10 microg ethinyl estradiol, was evaluated.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017135:Desogestrel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008598:Menstruation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008875:Middle Aged
D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; C034653:Oviol; D017135:Desogestrel