Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Feb 2:2:357-67.
doi: 10.2147/ppa.s3233.

Safety, efficacy and patient acceptability of the combined estrogen and progestin transdermal contraceptive patch: a review

Alessandra Graziottin  1
Affiliations

Safety, efficacy and patient acceptability of the combined estrogen and progestin transdermal contraceptive patch: a review

Alessandra Graziottin. Patient Prefer Adherence. .

Abstract

The worldwide introduction of the first, unique patch for hormonal contraception (ethinyl estradiol/norelgestromin, EE/NGMN patch) was widely recognized as a significant event in the development of drug delivery systems. This innovation offers a number of advantages over the oral route, and extensive clinical trials have proved its safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and tolerability. The weekly administration and ease of use/simplicity of the EE/NGMN patch contribute to its acceptability, and help to resolve the two main problems of non-adherence, namely early discontinuation and inconsistent use. The patch offers additional benefits to adolescents (improvement of dysmenorrhea and acne), adults (improvement in emotional and physical well-being, premenstrual syndrome, and menstrual irregularities), and perimenopausal women (correction of hormonal imbalance, modulation of premenopausal symptoms), thus providing high satisfaction rates (in nearly 90% of users). Since its introduction, the transdermal contraceptive patch has proved to be a useful choice for women who seek a convenient formulation which is easy to use, with additional, non-contraceptive tailored benefits for all the ages.

Keywords: hormonal contraceptive; patient adherence; patient satisfaction; transdermal.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age-specific pregnancy rates for oral contraceptives and patch calculated in real life conditions (From data of Sonnenberg et al 2005).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Most common adverse events in the three pooled contraceptive studies with the patch (From data of Sibai et al 2002).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of cycles with perfect adherence, by age group. Comparison between patch and oral contraceptive users (From data of Archer et al 2004).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abrams LS, Skee DM, Natarajan J, et al. Pharmacokinetics of norelgestromin and ethinyl estradiol delivered by a contraceptive patch (Ortho Evra™/Evra™) under conditions of heat, humidity and exercise. J Clin Pharmacol. 2001;41:1301–9. - PubMed
    1. Archer DF, Bigrigg A, Smallwood GH, et al. Assessment of compliance with a weekly contraceptive patch (Ortho Evra™/Evra™) among North American women. Fertil Steril. 2002;77(2, Suppl 2):S27–S30. - PubMed
    1. Archer DF, Cullins V, Creasy GW, et al. The impact of improved compliance with a weekly contraceptive transdermal system (Ortho Evra®) on contraceptive efficacy. Contraception. 2004;69:189–95. - PubMed
    1. Audet MC, Moreau M, Koltun WD, et al. Evaluation of contraceptive efficacy and cycle control of a transdermal contraceptive patch vs an oral contraceptive. A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2001;285:2347–54. - PubMed
    1. Burkman RT. Transdermal hormonal contraception: benefits and risks. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007;197:134e1–6. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources