Contraception with levonorgestrel, 0.15 mg, and ethinyl estradiol, 0.03 mg. Clinical studies in Latin America.

0.15 mg levonorgestrel and 0.03 mg ethinyl estradiol an ultra-low-dose oral contraceptive (OC) was studied in Latin America. In total 1206 sexually active fertile women in their reproductive years were followed through 9736 cycles. Only 1 of 8 pregnancies was attributed to failure of the medication resulting in a corrected Pearl Index of 0.13. Very good cycle regulation was achieved with an acceptably low rate of intermenstrual bleeding. The medication was discontinued for medical reasons in only 5% of the patients. Apart from a mild case of thrombophlebitis there were no major side effects. These studies show that this combination OC provides effective contraception with a very low incidence of side effects. (authors modified)