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. 2017 Jun;95(6):602-604.
doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2017.03.011. Epub 2017 Apr 1.

Residual hormone levels in used contraceptive rings as a measurement of adherence to vaginal ring use

Richard E Haaland  1 , Angela Holder  2 , Tammy Evans-Strickfaden  3 , Beatrice Nyagol  4 , Mumbi Makanga  5 , Boaz Oyaro  6 , Felix Humwa  7 , Tiffany Williams  8 , Eleanor McLellan-Lemal  9 , Mitesh Desai  10 , Michael J Huey  11
Affiliations

Residual hormone levels in used contraceptive rings as a measurement of adherence to vaginal ring use

Richard E Haaland et al. Contraception. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: This study sought to measure residual contraceptive hormone levels in vaginal rings as an adherence marker for monitoring product use in clinical trials.

Study design: Residual etonogestrel and ethinyl estradiol levels from used NuvaRings® of 26 self-reported adherent women enrolled in a clinical trial of vaginal ring acceptability were compared to those from 16 women who used NuvaRing® as their contraceptive choice.

Results: Twenty-one (81%) clinical trial rings had contraceptive hormone levels within the range of those used as a contraceptive choice. Five returned rings had unused or discordant levels of residual contraceptive hormones.

Conclusion: Residual vaginal ring drug levels could help assess adherence in clinical trials.

Keywords: Adherence; Contraception; HIV; Multipurpose technology; Vaginal ring.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential financial or nonfinancial conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article. All work was completed within the performance roles and responsibilities of the authors as determined by their employment with the CDC, KEMRI or Emory University.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Residual etonogestrel and ethinyl estradiol measured in NuvaRings® collected from current users and clinical trial participants following 1 month of self-reported use. Residual etonogestrel and ethinyl estradiol were calculated as a percentage of those measured in unused NuvaRings®. Blue circles and green circles indicate current NuvaRing® users and Kenyan clinical trial participants, respectively. Unfilled circles (n=3) indicate current users who reported removal of NuvaRing® during prescribed use. Red circles (n=8) indicate clinical trial participants diagnosed with BV.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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