November 15, 2005

At least ten women have sued manufacturers of the Ortho-Evra contraceptive patch, claiming that it has caused them to suffer strokes and blood clots. According to MedPundit Sydney Smith, who casts a critical eye on the litigation, the device delivers an overall higher dose of estrogen, an agent known to be linked to the risk of blood clots and strokes, than does the oral contraceptive pill; on the other hand, it does not deliver a "spike" or brief surge of estrogen as does the pill. MedPundit says the risks of estrogen are "common knowledge" and reviewed by doctors with patients before birth control is prescribed:

Which leaves one wondering, what are those women and their lawyers thinking? Did they think because they absorbed the estrogen from their skin instead of their GI tracts that it took away all the risks?