Preferential prescribing of type of combined oral contraceptive pill by general practitioners to teenagers with acne.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the oral contraceptive prescribing patterns of general practitioners for teenagers in the UK and any preferential prescribing for those with acne.

METHOD: The General Practice Research Database was used in a retrospective observational study. Records of females aged 13-19 years were examined for the years 1994 and 1997.

RESULTS

In 1994, third-generation pills were widely prescribed, whereas, in 1997, levonorgestrel pills were most commonly prescribed. In those with a recent history of acne, the most commonly prescribed single product was one containing cyproterone acetate.

CONCLUSION

General practitioners appear to favor cyproterone acetate-containing pills for those with acne; this proclivity became more pronounced after the pill scare. General practitioners had all but ceased using third-generation pills in 1997, even when there was a therapeutic indication.