Ortho Evra Attorneys

Dangers of Prescription Drug Patches Often Overlooked

The Ortho Evra birth control patch is one of many potentially dangerous drug patches. According to the LA Times, patients and healthcare professionals alike overestimate the safety of drug patches.

Patches do arguably fill a niche in the prescription drug marketplace, allowing for easy administering of dosage to a patient who might otherwise not use medication consistently. The patches do not hurt like injections, they do not need to be swallowed, and they enter the body directly into the bloodstream rather than through the stomach.

However, medical experts disagree about the equivalent dosage with an oral pill versus a patch. "What is the corresponding patch level that would be equivalent to oral drugs?" asked Curt Furberg, a Wake Forest drug-safety expert. "People use different formulas and there is disagreement."

Pain patches containing fentanyl, including Ortho-McNeil's Duragesic pain relief patch, have caused overdoses. The FDA issued a black box warning in 2005 that the patches should be prescribed at the lowest dose possible and not for short-term pain or post-operative pain. But other skin drug patches such as Ortho Evra have come into question because there is an increased risk of blood clots due to its higher-than-normal estrogen boost. Another patch used to treat attention deficit disorder, Daytrana, has caused skin irritation in some users and is reportedly hard to open and difficult to stick onto the skin.

One issue common to patches, the article notes, is that while delivering a drug more steadily, they can also ultimately deliver more of it. Another is that because heat affects the rate of absorption, sunbathing or a hot shower could cause an overdose. Sunbathing, a hot shower or exercise can trigger an overdose. Moreover, skin thickness varies from patient to patient. Thicker or thinner skins may mean varying levels of a drug entering the body. This may result in patients absorbing different amounts of the drug, which can lead to under or over-dosing. Kenneth Sloan, a University of Florida medicinal chemist, told the L.A. Times "One patch does not fit all."

The FDA is investigating Ortho Evra (manufactured by Ortho McNeil Pharmaceuticals)and has issued warnings, but there is no recall into effect as of yet. It has been shown that the Ortho Evra birth control patch has serious risks linked to it. If you have been injured as a result of using this product, contact the Ortho Evra lawyers at Williams Kherkher today for a free initial consultation.