Clinical Trial Adverse Events

CLOMID, at recommended dosages, is generally well tolerated. Adverse reactions usually have been mild and transient and most have disappeared promptly after treatment has been discontinued. Adverse experiences reported in patients treated with clomiphene citrate during clinical studies are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Incidence of Adverse Events in Clinical Studies (Events Greater than 1%) (n = 8029*)

The following adverse events have been reported in fewer than 1% of patients in clinical trials: Acute abdomen, appetite increase, constipation, dermatitis or rash, depression, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, hair loss/dry hair, increased urinary frequency/volume, insomnia, light-headedness, nervous tension, vaginal dryness, vertigo, weight gain/loss.

Patients on prolonged CLOMID therapy may show elevated serum levels of desmosterol. This is most likely due to a direct interference with cholesterol synthesis. However, the serum sterols in patients receiving the recommended dose of CLOMID are not significantly altered. Ovarian cancer has been infrequently reported in patients who have received fertility drugs. Infertility is a primary risk factor for ovarian cancer; however, epidemiology data suggest that prolonged use of clomiphene may increase the risk of a borderline or invasive ovarian tumor.

Postmarketing Adverse Events

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post approval use of Clomid. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Body as a Whole: Fever, tinnitus, weakness

Cardiovascular: Arrhythmia, chest pain, edema, hypertension, palpitation, phlebitis, pulmonary embolism, shortness of breath, tachycardia, thrombophlebitis

Central Nervous System: Migraine headache, paresthesia, seizure, stroke, syncope

Dermatologic: Acne, allergic reaction, erythema, erythema multiforme, erythema nodosum, hypertrichosis, pruritus, urticaria

Fetal/Neonatal Anomalies

• Abnormal bone development: skeletal malformations of the skull, face, nasal passages, jaw, hand, limb (ectromelia including amelia, hemimelia, and phocomelia), foot (clubfoot), spine, and joints
• Cardiac abnormalities: septal heart defects, muscular ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, tetralogy of Fallot, and coarctation of the aorta
• Chromosomal disorders: Downs syndrome
• Ear abnormalities and deafness
• Gastrointestinal tract abnormalities: cleft lip and palate, imperforate anus, tracheoesophageal fistula, diaphragmatic hernia, omphalocele
• Genitalia abnormalities: hypospadias, cloacal exstrophy
• Lung tissue malformations
• Malformations of the eye and lens (cataract)
• Neoplasms: neuroectodermal tumor, thyroid tumor, hepatoblastoma, lymphocytic leukemia
• Nervous system abnormalities: neural tube defects (anencephaly, meningomyelocele), microcephaly, and hydrocephalus
• Renal abnormalities: renal agenesis and renal dysgenesis
• Others: dwarfism, mental retardation

Genitourinary: Endometriosis, ovarian cyst (ovarian enlargement or cysts could, as such, be complicated by adnexal torsion), ovarian hemorrhage, tubal pregnancy, uterine hemorrhage

Hepatic: Transaminases increased, hepatitis

Musculoskeletal: Arthralgia, back pain, myalgia

Neoplasms: Liver (hepatic hemangiosarcoma, liver cell adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma); breast (fibrocystic disease, breast carcinoma); endometrium (endometrial carcinoma); nervous system (astrocytoma, pituitary tumor, prolactinoma, neurofibromatosis, glioblastoma multiforme, brain abcess); ovary (luteoma of pregnancy, dermoid cyst of the ovary, ovarian carcinoma); trophoblastic (hydatiform mole, choriocarcinoma); miscellaneous (melanoma, myeloma, perianal cysts, renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, tongue carcinoma, bladder carcinoma)

Psychiatric: Anxiety, irritability, mood changes, psychosis

Visual Disorders: Abnormal accommodation, cataract, eye pain, macular edema, optic neuritis, photopsia, posterior vitreous detachment, retinal hemorrhage, retinal thrombosis, retinal vascular spasm, temporary or prolonged loss of vision, possibly irreversible.

Other: Leukocytosis, thyroid disorder

Drug Abuse And Dependence

Tolerance, abuse, or dependence with CLOMID has not been reported.

Read the Clomid (clomiphene) Side Effects Center for a complete guide to possible side effects »

Drug interactions with CLOMID have not been documented.

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility

Long-term toxicity studies in animals have not been performed to evaluate the carcinogenic or mutagenic potential of clomiphene citrate.

Oral administration of CLOMID to male rats at doses of 0.3 or 1 mg/kg/day caused decreased fertility, while higher doses caused temporary infertility. Oral doses of 0.1 mg/kg/day in female rats temporarily interrupted the normal cyclic vaginal smear pattern and prevented conception. Doses of 0.3 mg/kg/day slightly reduced the number of ovulated ova and corpora lutea, while 3 mg/kg/day inhibited ovulation.

Last reviewed on RxList: 11/2/2012
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.