Efficacy, tolerability and acceptability of a novel contraceptive vaginal ring releasing etonogestrel and ethinyl oestradiol

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Abstract
A novel contraceptive vaginal ring releasing etonogestrel 120 μg and ethinyl oestradiol 15 μg daily over a period of 3 weeks was tested. Each ring was used for one cycle, comprising 3 weeks of ring use followed by a 1 week ring-free period. This 1 year, multicentre study assessed the contraceptive efficacy, cycle control, tolerability and acceptability of the contraceptive. Altogether, 1145 women were exposed to the vaginal ring for 12 109 cycles (928 woman-years). Six pregnancies occurred during treatment, giving a Pearl Index of 0.65 (95% confidence interval 0.24–1.41). Cycle control was very good, since irregular bleeding was rare (2.6–6.4% of evaluable cycles) and withdrawal bleeding (mean duration 4.7–5.3 days) occurred in 97.9–99.4% of evaluable cycles. Compliance to the prescribed regimen was high with criteria being fulfilled in 90.8% of cycles. The ring was well tolerated. The majority of women considered this new contraceptive method easy to use, and it offers an effective, convenient, well-accepted and novel method for hormonal contraception.