High doses of estrogens, with or without a progestin, have been used for many years to prevent pregnancy after unprotected coitus (Medical Letter, 31:93, 1989). Now the FDA has approved marketing of the Preven Emergency Contraceptive Kit (Gynetics, Inc.) for this indication. The kit, which will require a prescription, includes four tablets, each containing 50 g of ethinyl estradiol and 0.25 mg of levonorgestrel, and a pregnancy test to rule out a pre-existing pregnancy, which would be a contraindication to taking the hormones.

A transdermal contraceptive patch (Ortho Evra — Ortho-McNeil) has been approved by the FDA. Each 20 cm² patch contains 6 mg of the progestin norelgestromin (the active metabolite of norgestimate) and 0.75 mg of ethinyl estradiol.

Desogen (Organon) and Ortho-Cept (Ortho), two oral contraceptives each containing a low dose (30 mcg) of the estrogen ethinyl estradiol plus 150 mcg of the progestin desogestrel, were recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing in the USA. They are the first US oral contraceptives to contain desogestrel, which is widely used in oral contraceptive combination products in other countries. Desogestrel is one of three new progestins (norgestimate and gestodene are the others) considered less androgenic than previously available progestins (L Speroff et al, Obstet...

Two types of oral contraceptives are available in the USA: combination oral contraceptives that contain both an estrogen and a progestin, and progestin-only contraceptives, or "mini-pills."Used as directed, all oral contraceptives marketed in the USA are similarly effective in preventing pregnancy.

An oral contraceptive (Yasmin - Berlex) containing 3 mg of drospirenone and 30 mcg of ethinyl estradiol is being promoted as having a low incidence of adverse effects.

Nefazodone (Serzone - Bristol-Myers Squibb) was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of depression. A phenylpiperazine, nefazodone is chemically related to trazodone (Desyrel, and others).