Tranexamic Acid to Reduce Contraceptive-related Bleeding Side Effects

August 18, 2025 updated by: Alison Edelman, Oregon Health and Science University
This randomized double blinded trial seeks to determine whether tranexamic acid (TXA) is an efficacious treatment for contraceptive induced menstrual changes (CIMC) including irregular, bothersome bleeding caused by the etonogestrel subdermal contraceptive implant (ENG implant). Participants will be randomized into the TXA treatment arm or a placebo. They will begin taking the medication after three consecutive days of bleeding. Participants will track their bleeding using an automated text message service

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
65

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Women's Health Research Unit Department of OB/GYN
  • Phone Number: 503-494-3666
  • Email: whru@ohsu.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Oregon
      • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
        • Oregon Health & Science University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English or Spanish speaking
  • In good general health
  • Have etonogestrel (ENG) subdermal contraceptive implant (must be palpable to prove that an ENG implant is in place at time of screening and enrollment)
  • Experience frequent or prolonged bleeding while using ENG implant (>7 days of continuous bleeding/spotting in the last 30 days, or 2 or more episodes of bleeding/spotting in the last 30 days)
  • Implant use for at least 30 days prior to screening visit
  • Willing to continue using the implant for at least 30 days from study enrollment
  • Access to a reliable cell phone and must be willing to receive and respond to a daily text or email message to assess bleeding and use of study drug
  • Negative gonorrhea/chlamydia screening performed at screening visit

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Centers for Disease Control Medical Eligibility for Contraceptive use category 3 or 4 for contraceptive usage
  • Currently pregnant
  • Less than 6 months postpartum, less than 6 weeks abortion, not breast/chest feeding (cessation of lactation at least 6 weeks prior to enrollment)
  • Undiagnosed abnormal uterine bleeding pre-dating placement of contraceptive implant
  • Bleeding dyscrasia
  • Anticoagulation use
  • Active cervicitis
  • Allergy to Tranexamic Acid
  • Known renal insufficiency
  • History of venous thromboembolism
  • Current or past breast or uterine malignancy
  • Concurrent use of P450 pathway inducing drug
  • Implant is due to be switched out in 2 months or less from enrollment
  • Routine or chronic use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs once daily or >= 14 days per month)
  • Currently using oral contraceptives in addition to implant (to be eligible, needs to have 4-6 week washout period)
  • Prior pregnancy occurred while Nexplanon/Implanon was in place
  • Chronic use of Cannabidiol, THC, or marijuana (>3 times per week) (patients could have used Cannabidiol, THC, or marijuana chronically in the past, but must have a washout time period of no use for at least one month prior to the study)
  • Chronic use of cigarettes (>1 cigarette per week) (patients could have used cigarettes chronically in the past, but must have a washout time period of no use for at least six months prior to the study)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment
After three consecutive days of bleeding, five days of 1300mg TXA three times per day (TID).
Drug: Tranexamic acid
1300mg TXA taken three times per day for five days
Other Names:
  • TXA
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
After three consecutive days of bleeding, five days of placebo three times per day.
Other: Placebo
Placebo pills taken three times daily for five days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Amenorrhea days
Time Frame: 30 days
The difference in mean days without bleeding across 30-day reference period between the treatment and placebo groups.
30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Oregon Health and Science University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Alison Edelman, MD, MPH, Oregon Health and Science University
  • Principal Investigator: Leo Han, MD, MCR, Oregon Health and Science University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 23, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 13, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 14, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 14, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 14, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 21, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 19, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 18, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • OHSU IRB 25761

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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