BACKGROUND Evidence on the association between antibiotic use and combined oral contraceptive (COC) failure is controversial. We examined the effect of concomitant antibiotic treatment on the risk of breakthrough pregnancy among COC users. STUDY DESIGNS We performed a case-crossover study of 1330 COC failure cases among 17,721 women from the Slone Epidemiology Center Birth Defects Study (1997...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate physician and pharmacist knowledge on potential drug interactions between combined oral contraceptives (COC) and broad-spectrum antibiotics and determine if any difference exists between responses. METHODS Two hundred licensed retail pharmacists and 200 licensed family practice physicians in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland were mailed an anonymous sur...

BACKGROUND Combined oral contraceptive (COC) use is the most commonly used reversible method of birth control. The incorrect use of COCs is frequent and one of the most common causes of unintended pregnancies. Community pharmacists (CPs) are in a strategic position to improve COC use because they are the last health professional to interact with patients before drug use. OBJECTIVE To evaluate...

BACKGROUND The availability of reliable contraception tailored to suit women's needs and lifestyles is an essential step in addressing unintended pregnancy and its substantial human and financial costs. The daily combined oral contraceptive pill has been the short-acting hormonal contraceptive of choice for the last 50 years. However, for some women, this may be neither suitable nor optimal. ...

Marvelon®, a combined oral contraceptive, contains 30 μg ethinyl estradiol (EE) and 150 μg desogestrel (DE), and has been shown to be a well-tolerated and effective combination that provides high contraceptive reliability and good cycle control. However, its efficacy has not been yet evaluated among Iranian women. Thus, the study aimed to determine the effect of oral contraceptive pill on treat...

Methods The objective of this review was to evaluate currently available low-dose OCs containing ethinylestradiol and different progestogens in terms of contraceptive effectiveness, cycle control, side effects and continuation rates. The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched. Randomized trials reporting clinical outcomes were considered for inclusion an...

Adverse publicity for combined oral contraceptives (COCs) has led to pill scares on numerous occasions such as reproductive cancers in 1983 and venous thromboembolism (VTE) in 1995. Misinformation should be avoided, especially through the correct interpretation of relative risk to avoid confusion and decrease unnecessary anxiety. Reassurance is usually important, as the absolute risk is infinit...

STUDY QUESTION What are women's experiences with tailored use of combined oral contraceptive pills (COCPs)? SUMMARY ANSWER Some women reported very positive experiences with tailored use of COCPs, others did not like the unpredictability about when they would bleed and some women reported increased anxiety about possible pregnancy. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY While many studies have investigated ...

In addition to providing highly effective contraception, combined oral contraceptives (COCs) afford a broad range of additional non-contraceptive benefits including regulation of menstruation with reduced bleeding and pain, improved complexion, reduction in benign breast disease, reduced ovarian cyst formation, and a 50% decrease in rates of ovarian and uterine cancer. The low doses of hormones...

Premenstrual syndrome and its most severe form, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), are two well-defined clinical entities that affect a considerable number of women. Progesterone metabolites and certain neurotransmitters, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid and serotonin, are involved in the etiology of this condition. Until recently, the only treatment for women with PMDD was psychoactive dru...