Indications and reasons for discontinuing the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS)

• Autor(a) principal: Pires,Maria Luíza Lemos
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Souza,Ariani Impieri, Dantas,Maria Luisa Borges Roriz, Soriano,Gabriela Delgado, Henriques,Cláudia Viana, Ferreira,Ana Laura Carneiro Gomes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Saúde Materno Infantil (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-38292020000200479
• topic: Contraception; Contraceptive effectiveness; Levonorgestrel; Long-acting reversible contraception; Progesterone-releasing intrauterine devices

Abstract Objectives: to identify the main indications and reasons for discontinuing the use of the Levonorgestrel-Releasing Intrauterine System (LNG-IUS). Methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out from medical records of 327 women who used the LNG-IUS 52mg between January 2011 and December 2016 at a public hospital in the Northeast of Brazil. Results: the main indications for the use of the LNG-IUS were: contraception (32.7%), myoma/metrorrhagia (28.7%) and endometriosis/pelvic pain (22.3%). Of the 327 women, 68 (20.8%) had discontinued using the device. The most frequent reasons for discontinuation were: expulsion (9.2%), LNG-IUS expiration (3.7%), bleeding (2.4%) and pain (1.5%). Most patients had no difficulty in the insertion and did not require anesthesia/sedation. Among the 30 women who expelled the device, 17 (56.7%) had used it for metrorrhagia and myoma, 8 (26.7%) for contraception, and 5 (16.6%) for endometriosis/pelvic pain. Conclusions: the LNG-IUS is a well-accepted contraceptive method, with therapeutic applications for some gynecological conditions and a low expulsion rate.