Preliminary results from a swedish multicenter trial of a new low dose combined oral contraceptive

Abstract

Neovletta, a new combined low estrogen -- low progestogen oral contraceptive was investigated in 226 women over 1921 cycles at three different clinics. This report constitutes a preliminary evaluation of a large scale multicenter study being conducted in Sweden. No pregnancy was reported during the observation period. The length of menstrual cycle was generally 28 days and withdrawal bleeding during the tablet free period was missed in only 0.9 per cent of the cycles. The duration of menstruation was shortened by about one day. The amount of menstrual flow, as registered by the women, showed a reduction during treatment. Spotting and breakthrough bleeding were increased during the first three treatment cycles, whereas from the fourth to 12th cycles the incidence of these bleeding irregularities was not much different from pretreatment values. A total of 46 women (20 per cent) discontinued treatment due to side-effects of which bleeding irregularities constituted the major problem.