The panty condom: a pilot study of the function and acceptability of an alternative female condom design

Abstract

New female condom (FC) products, different in design and materials that have the potential to lower cost and improve acceptability are being developed. A pilot study of the Panty Condom was conducted among experienced FC users in Durban, South Africa. This pilot function trial enrolled 19 women who were asked to use five Panty Condoms each and collect information on use in a condom diary at home, followed by one follow-up interview. Primary endpoints were total clinical failure and total female condom failure. Non-inferiority of component modes, clinical breakage, non-clinical breakage, slippage, misdirection, and invagination were also determined. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for each failure mode. The mean age of the participants was 27.8 years (SD 4.9). Safety and acceptability data were also assessed. In 95 condom uses nine failure events occurred in eight condoms. Clinical breakage occurred in 8.4% (n = 8) of condoms and slippage in one condom. Total FC failure was 8.4% of all condom uses. Of the eight breakage events there were two reports of the condom ripping during sex and six reports of the condom detaching from the panty. Fifteen women either liked very much or liked somewhat using the Panty Condom. Total clinical failure was approximately twice that seen in other FC functionality studies.