What is the problem with ORTHO EVRA?
December 1, 2005 08:35

Blood clots in the lungs were seen in two women given ORTHO EVRA in clinical trials conducted before the drug was approved and in addition to many similar cases in women after the drug was marketed. The FDA has logged 9,116 reports of adverse reactions to the ORTHO EVRA birth control patch in a 17-month period, whereas Ortho Tri-Cyclen, a birth control pill, only generated 1,237 adverse reports in a six year period.


With 9.9 million prescriptions the numbers of women with extreme complications leading death are just starting to receive media exposure. In July 2005, a young, healthy married mother of two children experienced shortness of breath and died the next day.

Johnson and Johnson has a division known as Ortho-McNeil -- the makers of the birth control patch called ortho-evra.

Lawsuits allege that pulmonary embolisms, strokes and heart attacks are caused by the birth control patch. The Associated Press has reported on these lawsuits and has been instrumental at raising public awareness about these dangerous side effects of the birth control patch.

9 million prescriptions and over 4 million users are at risk. Doctors are alarmed and have reduced the number of women using the birth control patch for contraception. The side effects are DVT (deep vein thrombosis), PE (pulmonary embolism), Blood Clots, Heart Attack, Stroke, & Death.

The Patch has been on the market since 2002.

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2005. suit against Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., a division of Johnson and Johnson Inc. (NYSE:JNJ), on behalf of a 19-year-old woman who suffered pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after using the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch for 15 months.

By RICHARD HARKNESS Knight Ridder Newspapers.
Published: Monday, December 12, 2005

Q: My daughter has been using the Ortho Evra patch for birth control. I'm concerned about the recent warning that it can increase the risk for blood clots. What would you advise?

A: Ortho Evra is a contraceptive in patch form that became available in 2002. It's placed on the skin for a period of one week and then replaced with a new patch. The patch releases its hormonal ingredients into the bloodstream steadily over that time period. ... Life-threatening blood clots can lodge in the veins of the legs or lungs, and less frequently, in the arteries of the heart (heart attack) or brain (ischemic stroke).

Every 45 seconds someone has a stroke in the U.S....and every three minutes, someone dies from one. In our Healthy living report learning the warning signs and reducing your risk.

That's why everyone should know the warning signs, which are:

• Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body
  
• Visual problems
  
• Inability to speak or walk
  
• Sudden confusion
  
• A sudden severe headache
  

Risk factors for stroke are:

• High blood pressure
  
• Smoking
  
• Diabetes
  
• Overweight
  
• Usage of the Ortho Evra Birth Control patch
  

American Stroke Association