Prescribing preferences and personal experience of female gynaecologists in Germany and Austria regarding use of extended-cycle oral contraceptives.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate prescribing preferences and personal experience of female gynaecologists with extended-cycle use of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) in Germany and Austria.


METHODS
A questionnaire on prescribing patterns and personal experience with extended COC regimens was delivered to female gynaecologists practising in Germany and Austria.


RESULTS
Of 2,500 delivered questionnaires, 1,113 were returned. After exclusion of 22 invalid questionnaires, the remaining 1,091 (43.6% of delivered questionnaires) remained eligible for analysis and were considered as the full analysis set (100%). Nearly all gynaecologists (97%) reported prescription of extended-cycle regimens to their patients, independent of their personal experience as users. The main medical reasons for prescription were cycle-related headache (93.8%), dysmenorrhoea (88.2%), cycle-related complaints (74.5%), and hypermenorrhoea (70.9%). In total, 863 gynaecologists had personally used COCs, 321 (37.2%) in extended-cycle regimen. The most commonly employed combinations were 30 μg ethinylestradiol (EE) + 2 mg dienogest (n = 114; 37.5%) and 30 μg EE + 3 mg drospirenone (n = 69; 22.7%).


CONCLUSIONS
Although considered off-label use, extended-cycle use of COCs is widely prescribed and personally used by German and Austrian female gynaecologists. The lack of personal experience with extended-cycle use does not impair the prescribing habit of gynaecologists with regard to extended-cycle regimens.
Wiegratz
Inka
I
Centre of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital of Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. inkawiegratz@hotmail.com
Galiläer
Katrin
K
Sänger
Nicole
N
Rody
Achim
A
Kuhl
Herbert
H
Schleussner
Ekkehard
E
D001317:Austria; D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006176:Gynecology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D056687:Off-Label Use; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined