A new oral contraceptive regimen for endometriosis management: preliminary experience with 24/4-day drospirenone/ethinilestradiol 3 mg/20 mcg

Mohamed Mabrouk, Serena Solfrini, Clarissa Frascà, Simona Del Forno, Giulia Montanari, Giulia Ferrini, Roberto Paradisi, Renato Seracchioli
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2011 · vol. 28(6) , pp. 451–454 · doi:10.3109/09513590.2011.634936 · PMID:22132832 · W2108969631
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This study evaluated a drospirenone/ethinylestradiol 3 mg/20 mcg oral contraceptive in 93 women with endometriosis, finding reductions in pain and endometrioma size in medical therapy users and low recurrence in surgical users.

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Abstract

We report our preliminary experience with the use of a low-dose oral contraceptive containing Drospirenone/Ethinylestradiol 3 mg/20 mcg, both in cyclic and continuous regimen for endometriosis management. A total of 93 women were retrospectively included: 52 were treated by medical therapy (exclusive combined oral contraceptives (COC)-users), while 41 were submitted to surgery followed by postoperative therapy (postoperative COC-users). A clinical examination was performed at baseline and at 6-months follow-up. Presence and intensity of endometriosis-related symptoms were assessed by a visual analogue scale. Presence and dimension of endometriotic lesions were evaluated by transvaginal ultrasonography. Adverse effects and tolerability were analysed. In exclusive COC-users, significant reductions in dysmenorrhoea and dyspareunia scores and in endometrioma mean diameter were observed at follow-up. In postoperative COC-users, anatomical and symptom recurrence rates at follow-up were 4.9% and 17%, respectively. The most frequent adverse effects were spotting and headache. No difference between cyclic and continuous regimen in terms of symptom relief, lesion progression and tolerability was observed. From our preliminary experience, Drospirenone/Ethinylestradiol 3 mg/20 mcg seems to be promising in endometriosis management.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosisendometriomadysmenorrheadyspareunia

MeSH descriptors

Androstenes Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Endometriosis Ethinyl Estradiol Ovarian Diseases Adult Androstenes Androstenes Combined Modality Therapy Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Drug Administration Schedule Endometriosis Endometriosis Ethinyl Estradiol Ethinyl Estradiol Female Follow-Up Studies Gynecologic Surgical Procedures

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (28)

Cited by (21)

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