NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters Health) -- The safety of the female condom needs to be evaluated before it can be recommended for use during anal sex, survey results suggest.
In six US cities, 2,277 gay and bisexual men who were not infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) -- the virus that causes AIDS -- answered a questionnaire about Reality, a female condom that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for vaginal use. A total of 145 men said that they had used Reality for anal sex at least once in the previous 6 months.
About 40% of these men reported problems with the condom, including pain, difficulty inserting the device, and difficulty keeping it in place. Four users reported rectal bleeding.
"Men with any HIV-positive partners were 2 times more likely to have used female condoms than men whose partners were HIV-negative or of unknown HIV status," Dr. Michael Gross of Abt Associates in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and colleagues report in the November issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
Men who reported having receptive anal sex about once per month or more often were 3 times more likely than others to have used Reality.
In their report, Gross and his colleagues point out that men with HIV-infected partners and men who regularly have receptive anal sex are at higher risk of infection with the AIDS virus than other gay and bisexual men. Therefore, they say, reports of rectal bleeding associated with female condoms are of concern.
The researchers conclude that "use of the female condom for anal sex should be evaluated for safety and (effectiveness) before it is widely promoted."
