Prevention of hemoperitoneum during ovulation by oral contraceptives in women with type III von Willebrand disease and afibrinogenemia. Case reports.

The follicle ruptures at the time of ovulation and fills with blood, forming a corpus hemorrhagicum. Minor bleeding from the follicle into the abdominal cavity may cause peritoneal irritation and, when it occurs in a patient with a defect of primary hemostasis, hemoperitoneum can occur. Von Willebrand disease and afibrinogenemia are two important bleeding disorders in which both primary hemostasis and coagulation are involved. Bleeding during ovulation is one major clinical complication in women with these disease. We have studied three patients with this hemorrhagic complication. Our data show that oral contraceptives are an effective way to avoid hemoperitoneum.