ReviewJournal of clinical medicine2022
Bleeding Patterns of Oral Contraceptives with a Cyclic Dosing Regimen: An Overview.
Review in Journal of clinical medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety and Efficacy of a 24-Cycle Administration of a Drospirenone-Only Pill in Japanese Women.The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research · 2026Trial
- Combined Oral Contraceptive Pills Versus Progestin-Only Pills for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2026Review
- A detailed review of pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of progestogens in oral contraception.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Anamnesis Checklist for Informed Oral Contraceptive Choices: A Spanish Perspective.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Understanding Problematic Bleeding When Using Contraception: Guidance for Clinicians.Open access journal of contraception · 2025Review
- Experts' view on the role of oestrogens in combined oral contraceptives: emphasis on oestetrol (E4).Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
- The benefits of estetrol addition to drospirenone for contraception.AJOG global reports · 2023Article
- Estetrol: From Preclinical to Clinical Pharmacology and Advances in the Understanding of the Molecular Mechanism of Action.Drugs in R&D · 2023Review
- Special Issue "New Insights into Contraception".Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Implementation and Feasibility of the VALORA Checklist for Structured Anamnesis in Oral Contraceptive Counseling in Spain: Results from a Survey-Based Pilot Study.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bleeding irregularities are one of the major reasons for discontinuation of oral contraceptives (OCs), and therefore clinicians need to set expectations during consultations. In this review we provide an overview of bleeding data of recently marketed cyclic combined OCs (COCs) and one progestin-only pill (POP). We evaluated data from phase 3 trials (≥12 months) used to gain regulatory approval. Overall, each type of OC has its own specific bleeding pattern. These patterns however were assessed by using different bleeding definitions, which hampers comparisons between products. In COCs, the estrogen balances the effects of the progestin on the endometrium, resulting in a regular bleeding pattern. However, this balance seems lost if a too low dose of ethinylestradiol (EE) (e.g., 10 µg in EE/norethindrone acetate 1 mg) is used in an attempt to lower the risk of venous thromboembolism. Replacement of EE by 17β-estradiol (E2) or E2 valerate could lead to suboptimal bleeding profile due to destabilization of the endometrium. Replacement of EE with estetrol (E4) 15 mg in the combination with drospirenone (DRSP) 3 mg is associated with a predictable and regular scheduled bleeding profile, while the POP containing DRSP 4 mg in a 24/4 regimen is associated with a higher rate of unscheduled and absence of scheduled bleeding than combined products.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.