Coagulation profile in women on low-dose oral contraceptive pills

A cross-sectional study looking at the coagulation system was carried out involving 175 women attending the National Population and Family Development Board's Clinic at the Maternity Clinic, General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. Study subjects comprise of 50 combined low-dose estrogen/progestrogen oral contraceptive (DC) pill users and 75 non-DC users, acting as controls. The subjects were on the pill for a period of one year or more. There were significant shortening of the prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PIT) in the DC group as compared to the control group. However, the activities of factors II, Vand VIII assayed were not significantly different between the two groups, suggesting that the changes in the PT and PIT were not significant clinically. The effect of long term usage of combined 10w..cJose DC pills does not seem to indicate changes in the coagulation profile of the women in our study.
PIP: The effect of low dose combined oral contraceptives containing 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol and either 150 mcg levonorgestrel or 150 mcg desogestrel on coagulation indices in Malaysian women was examined. 50 women who had been using the pills for 1 year or more, were compared to 75 non-users. All were attending the Maternity Clinic of the General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. Pill users registered shorter prothrombin time, 11.5 vs. 11.1 seconds (p=0.016), and partial thromboplastin time, 40.1 vs 35.1 seconds (p=0.000). Since there were no significant differences in Factors II, V, VII, or VIII, the overall effects of low-dose pills on coagulation is probably not clinically significant.