title: Low-dose ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel.
abstract: Low-dose ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel 20 microg/100 microg is a combined oral contraceptive that prevents pregnancy primarily by inhibiting ovulation. The Pearl index (pregnancies per 100 woman-years of use) with ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel 20 microg/100 microg was 0.88 and the cumulative pregnancy rate was 1.9% at the end of a 3-year open-label trial (1708 women with 26 554 evaluable cycles). The contraceptive efficacy of ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel 20 microg/100 microg was similar to that of other low-dose combined oral contraceptives containing ethinylestradiol 20 or 35 microg in a 6-cycle trial (463 evaluable women). Ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel 20 microg/100 microg is well tolerated; adverse events were those commonly associated with combined oral contraceptives. Headache and metrorrhagia (2% of women) were the most common adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation in the 3-year trial. Cycle control in open-label trials in women receiving up to 36 cycles of ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel 20 microg/100 microg was generally good, with the incidence of intermenstrual bleeding being highest during the first few cycles of use and decreasing thereafter.
authors.affiliation: Adis International Limited, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Toni M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Dando
authors.forename: Monique P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Curran
mesh_terms: D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016912:Levonorgestrel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; D016912:Levonorgestrel