Combined Hormonal Contraceptives
Ethinylestradiol with cyproterone acetate, Ethinylestradiol with desogestrel, Ethinylestradiol with drospirenone, Ethinylestradiol with etonogestrel, Ethinylestradiol with gestodene, Ethinylestradiol with levonorgestrel, Ethinylestradiol with norelgestromin, Ethinylestradiol with norethisterone, Ethinylestradiol with norgestimate, Estradiol with dienogest, Estradiol with nomegestrol, Mestranol with norethisterone |
Issues for Surgery |
Risk of contraceptive failure and pregnancy (potentially leading to cancellation of surgery) if discontinued preoperatively. Risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) if continued. |
Advice in the Perioperative period |
Elective Surgery Minor Surgery Major Surgery Consider other risk factors that the patient may have that further increase the risk of VTE e.g. age, weight, previous history of VTE. If it is deemed appropriate for the patient to discontinue their contraception, then they MUST be given advice on alternative contraception and pregnancy must be excluded on admission Emergency Surgery Ensure adequate thromboprophylaxis to reduce risk of VTE. If prolonged immobilisation anticipated consider discontinuing on admission. Perioperative Considerations If sugammadex is administered in theatre see post-operative advice under Interaction(s) with Common Anaesthetic Agents. Post-operative Advice If stopped pre-operatively restart at the first menses occurring at least 2 weeks after full mobilisation. |
Interaction(s) with Common Anaesthetic Agents |
Sugammadex Administration of a single bolus dose of sugammadex is predicted to cause a 34% decrease in progestogen exposure; the effect on oestrogen will be lower. This predicted pharmacokinetic reaction has not been proven clinically however it is recommended that users of oral contraceptives follow the missed dose advice in the package leaflet and that users of non-oral hormonal contraceptives use an additional non-hormonal contraceptive method for the next 7 days3, 4. |
Interaction(s) with other Common Medicines used in the Perioperative Period |
Etoricoxib Etoricoxib slightly increases the exposure to combined hormonal contraceptives2, 3. |
Further Information |
Risk of VTE Patients taking combined hormonal contraceptives are at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) compared with non-users1, 2. The risk is thought to be greatest in the first year of treatment and also when restarting after a gap of more than four weeks1. The incidence of VTE varies depending on both the oestrogen dose and the type of progesterone1. Products that contain levonorgestrel, norgestimate or norethisterone are associated with the lowest risk of VTE whereas products containing third generation progestogens have a higher risk of VTE1 (see figure 1). Ethinylestradiol with cyproterone acetate (Dianette®) is estimated to confer a similar VTE risk to third generation progestogens5, 6. Products with 20microgram oestrogen doses were associated with a lower incidence of VTE than products with 30-40microgram oestrogen doses in a population based cohort study1. VTE estimates in the literature for the combined transdermal patch (Evra®) and combined vaginal ring (NuvaRing®) are conflicting but appear to be higher than the oral route (approx. 6-12 cases per 10,000 women per year of use)1, 7, 8. The incidence of VTE in users of oestrogen containing contraception remains considerably lower than in pregnant patients and postpartum patients1.
Figure 1: Estimated incidence of VTE per 10,000 women per year of use for various combined hormonal contraceptives1, 2. Alternative Contraception Progesterone-only contraceptives are recommended as an alternative to combined hormonal contraceptives for patients before major elective surgery, before surgery to the lower limbs or before surgery that involves prolonged immobilisation of a lower limb1, 2. Consult the product literature for advice about switching. |
References |
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