Dataset Information

Unforeseen uses of oral contraceptive pills: Exploratory study in Jordanian community pharmacies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) as a birth control method is very common worldwide. OCPs have many other labeled non-contraceptive indications, and as a result there is an associated risk of improper use, as with any other medications. This study was designed to assess the unforeseen improper uses of OCPs observed by community pharmacists in Jordan.

Method

A cross-sectional study design was conducted using a self-administered survey. A convenience sample (n = 380) of Jordanian community pharmacists, were recruited through social media resources. The survey included multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were completed using SPSS.

Results

More than half of the recruited pharmacists (55.3%) were female, and the mean age of the participants was 32.58 ± 9.94. The majority of the pharmacists (85%) had good knowledge about the non-contraceptive indications of OCPs. About 53% of them confirmed their exposure to cases of the improper use of OCPs. About 67.5% of the pharmacists who confirmed exposure to such cases, reported the topical use of OCPs for the enhancement of hair growth. Around 15% of those pharmacists stated that OCPs were used to give negative results for addictive drug screening tests. In the event that the pharmacists suspected improper use, more than 90% suggested they would refrain from dispensing the pills.

Conclusion

This study has spotlighted many unforeseen uses of OCPs in Jordan and highlighted the need for restricted national regulations on the monitoring of OCP prescription/selling patterns in Jordan by policymakers. Moreover, there is a need for the establishment of national educational programs for the Jordanian community regarding the safe proper use of OCPs.

SUBMITTER: Barakat M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7751968 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Unforeseen uses of oral contraceptive pills: Exploratory study in Jordanian community pharmacies.

Barakat Muna M Al-Qudah Raja'a R Akour Amal A Al-Qudah Najem N Dallal Bashi Yahya H YH

PloS one 20201221 12

<h4>Background</h4>The use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) as a birth control method is very common worldwide. OCPs have many other labeled non-contraceptive indications, and as a result there is an associated risk of improper use, as with any other medications. This study was designed to assess the unforeseen improper uses of OCPs observed by community pharmacists in Jordan.<h4>Method</h4>A cross-sectional study design was conducted using a self-administered survey. A convenience sample (n = ...[more]

PMID: 33347511

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Project description:Both oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and estradiol (E2) valerate have been used to schedule gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles and, consequently, laboratory activities. However, there are no studies comparing treatment outcomes directly between these two pretreatment methods. This randomized controlled trial was aimed at finding differences in ongoing pregnancy rates between GnRH antagonist IVF cycles scheduled with OCPs or E2 valerate.Between January and May 2012, one hundred consecutive patients (nonobese, regularly cycling women 18-38 years with normal day 3 hormone levels and <3 previous IVF/ICSI attempts) undergoing IVF with the GnRH antagonist protocol were randomized to either the OCP or E2 pretreatment arms, with no restrictions such as blocking or stratification. Authors involved in data collection and analysis were blinded to group assignment. Fifty patients received OCP (30 ?g ethinyl E2/150 ?g levonorgestrel) for 12-16 days from day 1 or 2, and stimulation was started 5 days after stopping OCP. Similarly, 50 patients received 4 mg/day oral E2 valerate from day 20 for 5-12 days, until the day before starting stimulation.Pretreatment with OCP (mean±SD, 14.5±1.7 days) was significantly longer than with E2 (7.8±1.9 days). Stimulation and embryological characteristics were similar. Ongoing pregnancy rates (46.0% vs. 44.0%; risk difference, -2.0% [95% CI -21.2% to 17.3%]), as well as implantation (43.5% vs. 47.4%), clinical pregnancy (50.0% vs. 48.0%), clinical miscarriage (7.1% vs. 7.7%), and live birth (42.0% vs. 40.0%) rates were comparable between groups.This is the first study to directly compare these two methods of cycle scheduling in GnRH antagonist cycles. Our results fail to show statistically significant differences in ongoing pregnancy rates between pretreatment with OCP and E2 for IVF with the GnRH antagonist protocol. Although the study is limited by its sample size, our results may contribute to a future meta-analysis. An interesting future direction would be to extend our study to women with decreased ovarian reserve, as these are the patients in whom an increase in oocyte yield-due to the hypothetical beneficial effect of steroid pretreatment on follicular synchronization-could more easily be demonstrated.ClinicalTrials.gov http://NCT01501448.

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Project description:Importance:The Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system is the largest integrated health care system in the United States. Like most US health plans, the VA currently stipulates a 3-month maximum dispensing limit for all medications, including oral contraceptive pills (OCPs). However, 12-month OCP dispensing has been shown to improve continuation of use, decrease coverage gaps, and reduce unintended pregnancy in other practice settings. Objective:To estimate the financial and reproductive health implications for the VA of implementing a 12-month OCP dispensing option, with the goal of informing policy change. Design, Setting, and Participants:A decision model from the VA payer perspective was developed to estimate incremental costs to the health care system of allowing the option to receive a 12-month supply of OCPs up front, compared with the standard 3-month maximum, during a 1-year time horizon. A model cohort of 24?309 reproductive-aged, heterosexually active, female VA enrollees who wish to avoid pregnancy for at least 1 year was assumed. Probabilities of continuation of OCP use, coverage gaps, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes were drawn from published data. Costs of OCP provision and pregnancy-related care and the number of women using OCPs were drawn from VA administrative data. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess model robustness. Main Outcomes and Measures:Incremental per-woman and total costs to the VA of allowing for 12-month dispensing of OCPs compared with standard 3-month dispensing. Results:The 12-month OCP dispensing option, modeled from the VA health system perspective using a cohort of 240 309 women, resulted in anticipated VA annual cost savings of $87.12 per woman compared with the cost of 3-month dispensing, or an estimated total savings of $2?117?800 annually. Cost savings resulted from an absolute reduction of 24 unintended pregnancies per 1000 women per year with 12-month dispensing, or 583 unintended pregnancies averted annually. Expected cost savings with 12-month dispensing were sensitive to changes in the probability of OCP coverage gaps with 3-month dispensing, the probability of pregnancy during coverage gaps, and the proportion of pregnancies paid for by the VA. When simultaneously varying all variables across plausible ranges, the 12-month strategy was cost saving in 95.4% of model iterations. Conclusions and Relevance:Adoption of a 12-month OCP dispensing option is expected to produce substantial cost savings for the VA while better supporting reproductive autonomy and reducing unintended pregnancy among women veterans.

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Dataset Information

Unforeseen uses of oral contraceptive pills: Exploratory study in Jordanian community pharmacies.

Background

Method

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Unforeseen uses of oral contraceptive pills: Exploratory study in Jordanian community pharmacies.

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