Prescribing preferences and personal experience of female gynaecologists in Germany and Austria regarding use of extended-cycle oral contraceptives

Abstract

Objectives To investigate prescribing preferences and personal experience of female gynaecologists with extended-cycle use of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) in Germany and Austria.

Methods A questionnaire on prescribing patterns and personal experience with extended COC regimens was delivered to female gynaecologists practising in Germany and Austria.

Results Of 2,500 delivered questionnaires, 1,113 were returned. After exclusion of 22 invalid questionnaires, the remaining 1,091 (43.6% of delivered questionnaires) remained eligible for analysis and were considered as the full analysis set (100%). Nearly all gynaecologists (97%) reported prescription of extended-cycle regimens to their patients, independent of their personal experience as users. The main medical reasons for prescription were cycle-related headache (93.8%), dysmenorrhoea (88.2%), cycle-related complaints (74.5%), and hypermenorrhoea (70.9%). In total, 863 gynaecologists had personally used COCs, 321 (37.2%) in extended-cycle regimen. The most commonly employed combinations were 30 μg ethinylestradiol (EE) + 2 mg dienogest (n = 114; 37.5%) and 30 μg EE + 3 mg drospirenone (n = 69; 22.7%).

Conclusions Although considered off-label use, extended-cycle use of COCs is widely prescribed and personally used by German and Austrian female gynaecologists. The lack of personal experience with extended-cycle use does not impair the prescribing habit of gynaecologists with regard to extended-cycle regimens.

Key Words:

• Oral contraceptive
• Extended-cycle regimen
• Prescribing habit

Declaration of interest: This study was supported by Jenapharm GmbH & Co KG (Jena, Germany). The authors Inka Wiegratz, Herbert Kuhl, and Ekkehard Schleußner received honoraria for lectures and expert reports from Jenapharm GmbH & Co. KG. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.