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February 18, 2015
Accutane Users Overestimate Effectiveness of Their Contraceptive Methods

Sacramento, CA—Women prescribed isotretinoin, marketed as Accutane, tend to overestimate the effectiveness of the contraceptive method they are using, even though the drug can cause serious birth defects.

That’s according to a new study finding that an information sheet for women being treated for severe acne improves understanding of contraceptive effectiveness and ways to avoid pregnancy and medication-induced birth defects, including facial deformities, missing or malformed earlobes, and cognitive defects.

Use of isotretinoin has been strictly regulated, notes the report published online recently by JAMA Dermatology, but women using the drug continue to get pregnant because they rely on contraceptives that may fail.

The study, led by researchers from the University of California Davis, was conducted between April and May 2014 and involved100 English-speaking women, aged 18 to 45 years, seated in the waiting room of an urban dermatology practice. Participants were asked to indicate the contraceptives of which they were aware and categorize their effectiveness before and after reviewing a contraceptive information sheet. A research assistant noted how long each participant spent reviewing the information sheet and collected demographic information about each participant.

Prior to receiving the contraceptive information sheet, more than half the women overestimated the typical effectiveness of condoms, contraceptive injections, and oral contraceptives, and many had never heard of the subdermal contraceptive implant or the intrauterine device, which are among the most effective contraceptives.

For example, 55% of participants overestimated the typical effectiveness of condoms, while many overestimated the effectiveness of oral contraceptives, which typically fail in 9% of women within their first year of use.

“We found that women who spent less than one minute reviewing a contraceptive information sheet while waiting to see their dermatologist demonstrated significant improvement in their knowledge of highly effective contraceptives,” explained senior author Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, professor of medicine in the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Physicians who prescribe isotretinoin participate in the iPledge program, which seeks to protect women from pregnancy while taking the drug. The study suggests that educational materials need to be updated to include effectiveness information.

Schwarz noted that subdermal contraceptives, like all medications that suppress ovulation, improve acne for the majority of women. The study indicates that up-to-date information about modern contraceptive methods, linked with prompt referral to a clinician able to place implants or intra-uterine devices (IUDs), may dramatically decrease rates of medication-induced birth defects related to Accutane use.


 


U.S. Pharmacist Social Connect