Angelika Bátorová, Denisa Jankovičová
Combined oral contraceptives if correctly used are highly effective in the birth control and the decicion about the prescription of these medicaments is determined by their safety profile. Venous thromboembolism represents one of the most serious adverse events of combined oral contraceptives as the result of hormone induced hypercoagulability, which may augment the risk of other confounding factors of thrombosis. The eligibility of patient for the use of combined oral contraceptives should be evaluated before the first prescription of the combined oral contraceptives according to the WHO recommendations, which are based on the presence of known risk factors for thrombosis. Routine screening of thrombophilia markers is not recommended because of the rarity of the conditions and the high cost of screening. Precise patient´s and family history and the evaluation of clinical situation allow to reveal majority of women at a risk of thrombosis and to choose appropriate mode of contraception with a lowest risk of thrombosis.
Key word: Oral contraceptives, venous thrombosis, thrombophilia