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Contraception - Management
What advice should I give regarding potential drug interactions with the progestogen-only pill (POP)?
- Some drugs and herbal remedies may interfere with the effectiveness of progestogen-only pills (POPs).
- Women taking liver enzyme–inducing drugs should use additional contraception (e.g. condoms) whilst taking the drug and for 4 weeks after finishing the course:
- Commonly encountered liver enzyme–inducing drugs are:
- Antibiotics: rifampicin and rifabutin.
- Anticonvulsants: carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, topiramate.
- Herbal remedies: St John's wort.
- Antiretrovirals: drug interactions between certain antiretroviral agents and hormonal contraceptives could alter the safety and effectiveness of both the hormonal contraceptives and the antiretroviral agents. See antiretrovirals.
- Antibiotics that do not induce liver enzymes (i.e. all antibiotics except rifampicin and rifamycin) do not reduce the effectiveness of POPs.
- Emergency contraception should be considered if sexual intercourse has taken place in the past 5 days and the efficacy of the POP is doubtful — see the CKS topic on Contraception - emergency.
In depth
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