Abstract
Combination oral contraceptives (COCs) are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs for women between the ages of 15–451 and while they are accepted to be safe and highly effective, their use is often associated with a number of minor sideeffects. Considering the limited nature of this review, a detailed overview of the complete clinical profile of COCs falls beyond the current scope. Rather, we will focus on the most frequently reported side-effects of COCs that do not necessitate treatment withdrawal. Adverse effects that require immediate withdrawal of therapy are usually related to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and other cardiovascular events, malignancies or hepatic pathology2 and would require a more in-depth review.
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