Oral contraceptive pills and inherited thrombophilia in a young woman with deep venous thrombosis.

Inherited risk factors for vascular disease include factor V Leiden [1], prothrombin [2] and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) point mutations [3]. The use of oral contraceptives is also a recognized risk factor for venous thromboembolism [4]. In Eastern Mediterranean countries, the highest frequency of factor V Leiden was reported in Lebanon (14%) [5,6]. However, there are no studies related to awareness of the use of oral contraceptive pills among individuals with a high risk for thrombotic events. Here we present the case of a female patient on oral contraceptive pills who sustained an extensive deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The patient was found to be hetero zygous for factor V Leiden (G1691A) and homozygous for the MTHFR (C677T) mutations.