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Medications that induce liver enzymes, such as rifampin and certain anticonvulsants, can decrease the blood levels of estrogens and progestins in women using oral contraceptives (OCs), potentially increasing the risk for contraceptive failure. Studies that have examined the effect of fluconazole, an antifungal agent, on the pharmacokinetics of OCs have yielded conflicting results, however. These authors, all employees of the manufacturer of fluconazole, conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study to investigate the pharmacokinetic interaction between fluconazole and a triphasic 35-μg estrogen and norethindrone OC in 26 healthy women aged 18 to 36.
Subjects received OCs for 3 cycles. During the second cycle, subjects were rand…