{"title":"Testosterone Pellet Use in Transgender Men.","authors":"Kwan Cheng, Aren Skolnick","doi":"10.1089/trgh.2021.0205","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>We assessed the efficacy and short-term adverse effects of testosterone pellet use in transgender men to broaden therapeutic options.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective study of 30 transgender men who started testosterone pellets between 2018 and 2020.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Testosterone pellets were started at dosages 675-825 mg per cycle and dose was adjusted according to testosterone levels obtained 1 to 6 months post-testosterone pellet insertion. Pharmacokinetics of testosterone pellet in transgender men was similar to those in cisgender men. Total testosterone levels reached a peak in 1 month and remained in the therapeutic range for ∼4 months in the range of 300-800 ng/dL. After switching over to testosterone pellets, 100% of patients continued to achieve amenorrhea and deepening of their voice. Most of the patients noticed increased hair growth in androgen-dependent regions (96.3%) and improved libido (70%). Adverse events were notable for a rate of polycythemia that was unexpectedly high at 46.67%. Pellet extrusion was found in 13.33% of patients. There was a low rate of pellet site hematoma (6.67%) and cellulitis (3.33%). No thromboembolic or cardiovascular events occurred in any of the patients.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study reveals that testosterone pellets are a reasonable alternative to other testosterone modalities in transgender men but would use caution in patients with a history of polycythemia or higher risk for thromboembolic events.</p>","PeriodicalId":2,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Bio Materials","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10732158/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ACS Applied Bio Materials","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2021.0205","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/12/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, BIOMATERIALS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: We assessed the efficacy and short-term adverse effects of testosterone pellet use in transgender men to broaden therapeutic options.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 30 transgender men who started testosterone pellets between 2018 and 2020.
Results: Testosterone pellets were started at dosages 675-825 mg per cycle and dose was adjusted according to testosterone levels obtained 1 to 6 months post-testosterone pellet insertion. Pharmacokinetics of testosterone pellet in transgender men was similar to those in cisgender men. Total testosterone levels reached a peak in 1 month and remained in the therapeutic range for ∼4 months in the range of 300-800 ng/dL. After switching over to testosterone pellets, 100% of patients continued to achieve amenorrhea and deepening of their voice. Most of the patients noticed increased hair growth in androgen-dependent regions (96.3%) and improved libido (70%). Adverse events were notable for a rate of polycythemia that was unexpectedly high at 46.67%. Pellet extrusion was found in 13.33% of patients. There was a low rate of pellet site hematoma (6.67%) and cellulitis (3.33%). No thromboembolic or cardiovascular events occurred in any of the patients.
Conclusion: This study reveals that testosterone pellets are a reasonable alternative to other testosterone modalities in transgender men but would use caution in patients with a history of polycythemia or higher risk for thromboembolic events.