Birth Control Patch and Blood Clots

Eddie Farah

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The FDA has updated the label on the Ortho Evra birth-control patch to reflect women face twice the risk of blood clots over women using the pill, even though a second study found no difference in risk between the patch and the pill

Although the results of the two studies are conflicting, the results of the second epidemiology study support FDA's concerns regarding the potential for Ortho Evra use to increase the risk of blood clots in some women

The risk of clots in women using either the patch or pill is small. Even if doubled for those on the patch, perhaps just six women out of 10,000 would develop clots in any given year.

It was only last year that federal studies found women using the patch had high rates of blood clots. The FDA updated the label on Ortho Evra alerting women using the patch expose them to about 60 percent more estrogen than using the pill.

The Johnson & Johnson company claims clots remain rare and have been reported as a potential of all hormonal contraceptives. They also report sales of Ortho Evra have declined significantly as the result of label revision and media coverage of the blood clot issue. Since the year 2002, more than 4 million women have used Ortho Evra.

Health officials warn that women who smoke should not use the patch, since smoking increased the risk of stroke and heart attach. Researchers believe estrogen may promote coagulation of the blood.

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