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Oral contraceptives are well tolerated when taken continuously
Jul 20, 2005, 15:07, Reviewed by: Dr.
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"Overall, oral contraceptives are safe and effective, and continuous pill-use is a reasonable approach to oral contraception,"
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By Cochrane Library,
Traditionally, oral contraceptives are taken for 21 days followed by a placebo week. This placebo week causes an artificial withdrawal bleed that gives the appearance of a normal monthly menstrual cycle, but now evidence shows that women tolerate contraceptives well if they skip this bleed.
An increasing number of women take oral contraceptives that combine oestrogen and progesterone (combined oral contraceptives - COC) continuously. Continuously-dosed COCs treat conditions like endometriosis, dysmenorrhoea and symptoms associated with monthly menstruation. Many women, however, simply want to avoid menstruation, leading to less interference in daily life, and fewer menstruation-related days off from work or school.
The Cochrane Review Authors set out to see if women experienced any differences when taking COC's in the standard pattern versus continuously.
Their conclusion was that the two dosing regimens have similar participant satisfaction and similar discontinuation rates. They also found evidence suggesting that menstrual-associated symptoms were reduced in continuous regimens. There was, however, not enough data to draw any conclusions about differences in the long-term safety or contraceptive effectiveness between the two dosing regimens.
"Overall, oral contraceptives are safe and effective, and continuous pill-use is a reasonable approach to oral contraception," says lead-author Alison Edelman who works at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. 
- Review Title: Edelman et al: Continuous or extended cycle vs. cyclic use of combined contraceptives for contraception. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005 Issue 3
www.interscience.wiley.com
Cochrane reviews are based on the best available information about healthcare interventions. They explore the evidence for and against the effectiveness and appropriateness of treatments (medications, surgery, education, etc) in specific circumstances.
The complete reviews are published in The Cochrane Library which is available by subscription, either on CDROM or via the Internet. You should be able to browse the Cochrane Library at your nearest medical library if you don't have your own subscription.
The Cochrane Library is published four times a year. Each issue contains all existing reviews plus an increasingly wider range of new and updated reviews. It is published and distributed by Wiley InterScience and is also distributed by a number of other Distribution Partners. It is not available for sale from Cochrane Centres.
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