[W]hat is it but to laugh in the faces of our godly magistrates, and make a pride out of what they, worthy gentlemen, meant for a punishment?1 Hester Prynne lived in the eighteenth century in an early New England, Puritan colony and is a character of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic Ameri-can novel, The Scarlet Letter. 2 Darlene Johnson was born in 1964 and presently lives in California.' Except f...

OBJECTIVE To examine the economic impact of a new implantable contraceptive, Implanon, in comparison with other available contraceptive methods. DESIGN This was a modelling study using cost data derived from national published sources and effectiveness data from either controlled clinical trials (Implanon) or reports in the literature (other contraceptives). In the baseline analysis, Implanon...

A 23-year-old woman presented to her gynecologist’s ofrice with a complaint of redness and tenderness at the site of her Norplan(TM, inserted 2 years prior. One week prior to presentation she had lacerated her fingertip while diving in the Bahamas (Fig. 1). Examination revealed erythema and tenderness overlying the NorplantTM site (Fig. 2). A course of orally administered trimethoprim/sulfameth...

Norplant, a systemic contraceptive, has been used extensively throughout the world. A major problem for consumers utilizing Norplant has been irregular, unpredictable uterine bleeding or spotting. This study seeks to determine whether or not an appropriate treatment could be found that will reduce the incidence of spotting and bleeding. Both a pilot study and an interim report of a multi-center...