Estradiol

Reviewed on8/5/2021

What Is Estradiol and How Does It Work?

Estradiolis a female hormone (estrogen). It is used by women to help reduce vaginal symptoms ofmenopause(such as vaginal dryness/burning/itching). These symptoms are caused by the body making less estrogen. When treating only vaginal symptoms of menopause, products applied directly inside thevagina(such as this medication) should be used first.Estrogensthat are taken by mouth, absorbed through the skin, or injected may have greater risks of side effects due to more estrogen being absorbed.

Estradiol is available under the following different brand names:Estrace,Vivelle-Dot,Delestrogen, DepoEstradiol,Divigel,Elestrin,Alora, Estrace Cream,EstradermTransdermal, estradiol topical, Estradot,Estrasorb,Estrogel,Evamist,Femtrace,Menostar,Minivelle, Vivelle, andClimara.

What Are the Dosages of Estradiol?

Dosages of Estradiol:

Dosage Forms and Strengths

Gel

  • 0.06%
  • 0.1%

Injectable solution

  • 5 mg/mL
  • 10 mg/mL
  • 20 mg/mL
  • 40 mg/mL

Tablet

  • 0.45 mg (as acetate)
  • 0.5 mg
  • 0.9 mg (as acetate)
  • 1 mg
  • 1.5 mg
  • 2 mg

Transdermal patch

  • 0.0375 mg
  • 0.05 mg
  • 0.06 mg
  • 0.075 mg
  • 0.1 mg

Topical emulsion

  • 4.35 mg/1.74g (0.25%)

Dosage Considerations – Should be Given as Follows:

  • Pediatric: Safety and efficacy not established

Vulvarand VaginalAtrophyin Menopause

  • Estrace: 1-2 mg orally once daily for 3 weeks, followed by 1 week off
  • Valerate: 10-20 mg intramuscularly (IM) every 4 weeks
  • EstroGel: 1.25 g/day 3 weeks on, 1 week off
  • Alora, Climara Vivelle-Dot, Estraderm: Use transdermally and follow product-specific directions
  • Prevention ofosteoporosis: 0.5 mg orally once daily for 3 weeks, followed by 1 week off
  • Metastatic breast cancer: 10 mg orally every 8 hours for 3 months
  • Prostate cancer: 1-2 mg orally every 8 hours for 3 months or more

Hypoestrogenism fromCastration, Hypogonadonism, orOvarianFailure

  • 口服(Estrace): 1-2 mg orally once/day; titrate to use minimaleffective dose
  • Transdermal (Alora, Estraderm, Climara, Vivelle-Dot, Minivelle): Use transdermally and follow product-specific directions
  • Valerate: 10-20 mg intramuscularly (IM) every 4 weeks

Hypoestrogenism

  • Cypionate: 1.5-2 mg intramuscularly (IM) every 4 weeks

Osteoporosis

  • 口服(Estrace): 0.5 mg/day for 23 days of 28-day cycle used in clinical studies
  • Transdermal (Alora, Menostar, Estraderm, Vivell-Dot, Minivelle): Follow product specific directions

VasomotorSymptoms Associated with Menopause

  • Estrace: 1-2 mg/day 3 weeks on, 1 week off
  • Valerate: 10-20 mg intramuscularly (IM) every 3-4 weeks
  • Cypionate: 1-5 mg IM every 3-4 weeks
  • Estrasorb: 3.48 g of emulsion applied once/day in the morning
  • Elestrin: 0.87克/天凝胶应用于同一时间each day; use patient's response to adjust dose
  • Divigel: 0.25 g/day gel; adjust dose based on patient response
  • EstroGel: 1.25 g/day gel applied at the same time each day

ProstateCancer

  • Estrace: 1-2 mg orally three times daily
  • 戊酸酯:30毫克肌内(IM)或更多的每一个1-2 weeks

What Are Side Effects Associated with Using Estradiol?

Side effects associated with use of Estradiol, include the following:

This document does not contain all possible side effects and others may occur. Check with your physician for additional information about side effects.

What Other Drugs Interact with Estradiol?

If your doctor has directed you to use this medication, your doctor or pharmacist may already be aware of any possible drug interactions and may be monitoring you for them. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with your doctor, health care provider or pharmacist first.

Severe Interactions of estradiol include:

Estradiol has serious interactions with at least 32 different drugs.

Estradiol has moderate interactions with at least 185 different drugs.

Estradiol has mild interactions with at least 34 different drugs.

This information does not contain all possible interactions or adverse effects. Therefore, before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all the products you use. Keep a list of all your medications with you, and share this information with your doctor and pharmacist. Check with your health care professional or doctor for additional medical advice, or if you have health questions, concerns or for more information about this medicine.

What Are Warnings and Precautions for Estradiol?

Warnings

  • Increased risk ofendometrial cancer
    • Close clinical surveillance of all women taking estrogens is important
    • Risk of endometrial cancer increases with use of unopposed estrogens; addingprogestinto estrogen therapy may reduce risk ofendometrial hyperplasia, aprecursor子宫内膜癌;
    • Adequate diagnostic measures, including endometrial sampling when indicated, should be undertaken to rule outmalignancyin all cases of undiagnosed persistent or recurring abnormal vaginal bleeding
  • Cardiovascularrisks
    • Estrogens with and without progestins should not be used to preventcardiovascular disease
    • Estrogens plus progestins:Women's Health Initiative(WHI) Estrogen Plus Progestinsub-study reported increased risks ofmyocardial infarction,stroke, invasive breast cancer, pulmonary embolism (PE), and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) inpostmenopausalwomen (50-79 years) during 5.6 years of treatment with daily PO conjugated estrogens (0.625 mg) combined withmedroxyprogesteroneacetate (2.5 mg) in comparison with placebo
    • Estrogens alone: Sub-study of WHI study reported increased risk of stroke and DVT in postmenopausal women (50-79 years) during 6.8 years of treatment with PO conjugated estrogens (0.625 mg/day) alone in comparison with placebo
  • Dementiarisks
    • Estrogens with and without progestins should not be used to prevent dementia
    • Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), sub-study of WHI study, reported increased risk of developing probable dementia in postmenopausal women 65 years and older during 4 years of treatment with daily PO conjugated estrogens (0.625 mg) combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate (2.5 mg) in comparison with placebo
    • Estrogens alone: Sub-study of WHIMS reported increased risk of developing probable dementia in postmenopausal women 65 years and older during 5.2 years of treatment with conjugated estrogens (0.625 mg/day) alone in comparison with placebo
    • Unknown whether these findings apply to younger postmenopausal women
  • Breast cancer
  • The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) estrogen plus progestin sub-study also demonstrated an increased risk of invasive breast cancer; estrogens with or without progestins should be prescribed at the lowest doses and for the shortest duration
  • Dose and duration
    • In the absence of comparable data, these risks should be assumed to be similar for other doses of conjugated estrogens and medroxyprogesterone acetate, as well as for other combinations and dosage forms of estrogens and progestins
    • Because of these risks, estrogens with or without progestins should be prescribed at lowest effective dose and for shortest duration consistent with treatment goals and individual risks
  • Unintentional secondary exposure to transdermal products
    • Breast budding, breast masses inprepubertalfemales, and gynecomastia in prepubertal males have been reported after unintentional secondary exposure

Contraindications

  • Documented hypersensitivity
  • Known anaphylactic reaction orangioedemawith topical emulsion
  • Knownprotein C, protein S, or antithrombin deficiency or other known thrombophilic disorder
  • Active or previous breast cancer
  • Arterial thromboembolic disease (stroke, myocardialinfarction(MI)),thrombophlebitis, deep veinthrombosis/pulmonaryembolism(DVT/PE), thrombogenic valvular disease
  • Estrogen-dependentneoplasia
  • Uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes mellitus withvascularinvolvement, jaundice with previous oral contraceptive (OC) use
  • Undiagnosed abnormal vaginal bleeding
  • Liver disease, liver tumors

Effects of Drug Abuse

  • No information provided

Short-Term Effects

  • See "What Are Side Effects Associated with Using Estradiol?"

Long-Term Effects

  • Increased risk of oral contraceptive (OC) use; howeverhuman papillomavirus(HPV) remains mainrisk factorfor this cancer; evidence suggests long-term (5 years or more) use of OCs may be associated with increased risk.
  • Increased risk of liver cancer with OC use; risk increases with longer duration of use
  • An increased risk of invasive breast cancer reported with estrogen plus progestin in WHI sub-study; estrogens with or without progestins should be prescribed at lowest doses and for shortest duration
  • See "What Are Side Effects Associated with Using Estradiol?"

Cautions

  • Severe anaphylactic reactions including hives, itching, swollen lips-tong-face, respiratory compromise, abdominal pain, vomiting during transdermal treatment reported
  • Family history of breast cancer or DVT/PE; current or previous depression, endometriosis,diabetes mellitus, hypertension,bone mineral densitychanges, renal or hepatic impairment, bone metabolic disease, systemic lupus erythematosus; conditions exacerbated by fluid retention (e.g.,migraine,asthma,epilepsy)
  • Discontinue if the following develop: yellow skin or eyes (jaundice), visual problems (may cause contactlensintolerance), any signs of venousthromboembolism, migraine with unusual severity, significant blood pressure increase, severe depression, increased risk of thromboembolic complications after surgery
  • Discontinue 4 weeks before major surgery or prolonged immobilization
  • Patients on warfarin or other oral anticoagulants (increase inanticoagulantdose may be warranted)
  • Some studies link oral contraceptive (OC) use with increased risk of breast cancer, whereas other studies have not shown any change in risk; risk depends on conditions where naturally high hormone levels persist for long periods, including early-onset menstruation (less than 12 years), late-onset menopause (over 55 years), first child after age 30 years, nulliparity
  • Increased risk of oral contraceptive (OC) use; however human papillomavirus (HPV) remains main risk factor for this cancer; evidence suggests long-term (5 years or more) use of OCs may be associated with increased risk
  • Increased risk of liver cancer with OC use; risk increases with longer duration of use
  • Hypercalcemia may occur in patients with breast cancer or bone metastases
  • Exogenousestrogens may exacerbate symptoms of angioedema in women with hereditary angioedema
  • Angioedema involving eye/eyelid, face,larynx,pharynx, tongue and extremity (hands, legs, ankles, and fingers) with or without hoves reported; discontinue therapy permanently if angioedema occurs
  • Femringis more potent than Estring and should be used withprogesteronetherapy to prevent endometrialhyperplasia
  • Caution regarding unintentional exposure in children
  • Risk of endometrial cancer increases with use of unopposed estrogens
  • An increased risk of invasive breast cancer reported with estrogen plus progestin in Women's Health Initiative (WHI) sub-study; estrogens with or without progestins should be prescribed at lowest doses and for shortest duration
  • There is no evidence that the use of "natural" estrogens results in different endometrial risk profile from use of synthetic estrogens at equivalent estrogen doses

Pregnancy and Lactation

  • Do not use estradiol in pregnancy
  • The risks involved outweigh potential benefits
  • Safer alternatives exist
  • Estradiol enters breast milk; use with caution if breastfeeding
References
SOURCE:
Medscape. Estradiol.
https://reference.medscape.com/drug/estrace-vivelle-dot-estradiol-342766
RxList. Estrace. Side Effects Center.
//www.vikdr.com/estrace-side-effects-drug-center.htm

Health SolutionsFrom Our Sponsors