Vaginal absorption of low-dose tranexamic acid from impregnated tampons

Tranexamic acid (TA), an antifibrinolytic drug, is usually administered orally to women with menorrhagia. This route of administration is associated with adverse side-effects, therefore tampons impregnated with TA were used to assess the absorption of the drug across the vaginal epithelium. Blood levels of TA in group A (9 patients), who had one tampon inserted, and group B (10 patients), who had a tampon inserted at 2-hourly intervals so that a total of 3 tampons were administered over a 6-hour period, demonstrated absorption of the drug into the blood stream in low concentrations.