[Risk of thromboembolism and oral contraceptives]

Four studies recently showed an increased risk of venous thromboembolic events (VTE) in current users of oral contraceptives (OCs). This risk was higher in users of Ocs containing third generation progestagens than in users of Ocs containing levonorgestrel. The excess of VTE attributable to the third generation pills should be about 10 per 100 000 woman-years. Conversely, the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease was not significantly increased in users of third generation pills. In addition, the risk of myocardial infarction associated with these latter types of pill was two-fold lower than the risk associated with the pills containing levonorgestrel, and this decrease was of borderline significance (p = 0.10). The results of these different studies are described and discussed in this paper.