MedWire News: A novel estradiol-based contraceptive containing estradiol valerate (E2V) and dienogest (DNG) is well-tolerated and has a high degree of user satisfaction and low discontinuation rate, show results of a German study.

Susanne Parke (Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Berlin) and colleagues administered an oral contraceptive (OC) containing E2V and dienogest using an estrogen step-down and a progestin step-up approach (E2V 3 mg on days 1-2, E2V 2 mg/DNG 2 mg on days 3-7, E2V 2 mg/DNG 3 mg on days 8-24, E2V 1 mg on days 25-26, and placebo on days 27-28) to 1,377 women over 26 days for 20 cycles.

Overall, 13 pregnancies occurred, of which six were due to method failure.

The majority of women (79.5 percent) were satisfied or very satisfied with the OC regimen. In total, 19.8 percent of women reported adverse events possibly related to the treatment, with breast pain the most frequent, followed by acne, headache, metrorrhagia, and weight increase.

The rate of discontinuation was low, at 10.2 percent.

The authors point out, that “unlike previous E2-containing OCs, the current preparation is associated with an acceptable bleeding pattern and cycle control profile,” with only 2.5 percent of women discontinuing treatment due to bleeding-related complaints.

Parke and team conclude that the E2V/DNG OC “provides highly effective and reliable contraception that is comparable to ethinyl estradiol-containing OCs.”

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