Skin patches, as the name suggests, are another type of estrogen replacement therapy in which a patch containing estrogen is attached to the skin. In addition to patches that contain only estrogen, combined patches that contain estrogen and progestin are also available. Ideally, the patches should be placed below the waist or in the lower region of the stomach. You will need to change the patches once or twice a week. Transdermal hormone therapy for menopause is primarily designed to deliver exogenous estrogen directly into the systemic circulation.
The addition of progestin, if considered necessary, is usually in the form of oral tablets, but there are some transdermal progestin delivery systems. Transdermal estrogen therapy is usually available in the form of a patch or gel that is applied directly to the skin and the active hormone is absorbed into the systemic circulation. Patches have the advantage that they only need to be changed once or twice a week, while gels are usually administered daily. As for the disadvantages, patches can peel off, irritate the skin and be unsightly; the use of a gel can cause the inadvertent administration of estrogen to another person if skin-to-skin contact occurs before the gel has been completely absorbed.
Hormone replacement therapy using HRT, equine estrogens conjugated to o-CEE, NETA norethisterone acetate, relative risk of relative risk, CI confidence interval. The authors found that compared to women who had never used menopausal hormone therapy, women using oral estrogen regimens had a higher risk of cholecystectomy; the risk was not increased among those following transdermal regimens. In France, unlike most other countries, most women who are prescribed menopausal hormone therapy receive a transdermal estrogen formulation with or without oral progestin. Based on the differences between oral and transdermal routes of administration, the purpose of the present review was to summarize the available evidence comparing the transdermal route with oral administration of the estrogenic component of HRT in postmenopausal women.
HRT hormone replacement therapy, O-CEE conjugated equine estrogens, low-density lipoprotein LDL, high-density lipoprotein HDL, medroxyprogesterone acetate MPA, norethindrone acetate NETA. Oral combination therapy had a higher risk compared to the estrogen-only preparation (RR 2.00 versus 1.30, e.g., if you still have a uterus, you will be given estrogen in combination with the hormone progestin. In the study of one million women in the United Kingdom, transdermal formulations were most commonly used for estrogen-only hormone therapy, and as a result, most women who received transdermal therapy underwent hysterectomy. Third, since the predominant practice has been to prescribe estrogens and progestins to most women (among those who have not undergone hysterectomy), the dosage schedule for transdermal therapy becomes more complex with the addition of a progestin pill.
Hormone replacement therapy using hormone replacement therapy, venous thromboembolism due to venous thromboembolism, relative risk risk of the CI confidence interval, heart rate risk ratio; equine estrogens conjugated to O-CEE.