A clinician's response to the oral contraceptive thrombosis controversy

The controversy involving new progestin oral contraceptives (OC) began in late 1995, continued through 1996, and started to reach resolution in 1997. The fundamental question is whether OC containing desogestrel and gestodene have a different risk of thrombosis compared with OC containing older progestins. Correcting for preferential prescribing and the healthy user effect leads to the conclusion that all low-dose OC--regardless of progestin type--have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. Low-dose OC do not increase the risk of myocardial infarction or stroke in healthy, non-smoking women less than 35 years of age. With effective patient screening for risk factors, the serious side effects of OC can be virtually eliminated.