RESUMO
PIP: The behavior or urinary pregnanediol in 5 groups of 172 healthy females using different hormnal oral contraceptives (OCs) and 1 group using IUDs is compared with 1 untreated control group having normal biph asic cycles. In all cases 24 hour urine samples were obtained in the follicular (phase 1) and luteal (phase 2) phases of the cycle using the thin-layer Sulli movici chromatographic method. In the control group the phase 1 mean was .91 mg/ 24 hours (h) and the phase 2 mean was 2.63 mg/24h. There were no variations in the values of phase 1 among all the contraceptive groups while in the IUD group the mean of phase 2 was significantly lower than in the control group. Among combination OCs there were no differences between phases 1 and 2; all cases measured below 1.5mg/24h in phase 2. However, estrogen-free progestogen drugs showed elevated pregnanediol values in phase 2. Although an incidence of low pregnanediol values was exhibited among all contraceptive groups, those low values are constant only in the combined and sequential OCs. In progestogen-only drugs high pregnanediol values compatible with ovulation occurred in the luteal phase at an inversely proportional rate to the dose of the drug. Further studies should be undertaken to establish the correlation of these data with the effects of these compounds on ovarian function.^ieng