Although
latex remains the primary material for male
condoms, a number of
condoms made from synthetic materials have appeared in commercial markets in recent years. Published data on the safety and efficacy of these
condoms is still limited, but nevertheless synthetic
condoms do offer the user a wider choice and may encourage greater use of
condoms for
contraception and sexual transmitted
infection prophylaxis. This paper reports on a study carried out in the Paris region of France on a new, commercial
polyurethane condom marketed in Japan as Sagami Original and in Europe as Protex Original. A standard
latex condom complying with the European standard for
condoms (EN 600:1996) from the same manufacturer was used as the control in the study. The clinical breakage rate for the
polyurethane condom was 0.6% (95% confidence interval 0.2-1.4%) compared to 1.3% (95% confidence interval 0.6-2.2%) for the
latex condom. The difference was not statistically significant (chi(2) = 1.9, p = 0.168). Clinically significant slippage (complete slippage of the
condom off the penis) was 1.1% (95% confidence interval 0.5-1.9%) for the
polyurethane condom, compared to 0.5% (95% confidence interval 0.2-1.2%) for the
latex; a difference that again was not statistically significant (chi(2) = 1.783, p = 0.182). The
polyurethane condom was therefore equivalent to the
latex condom in terms of clinical failure rate.