Design: A multicenter, retrospective study of the single-rod contraceptive implant, Implanon (NV Organon, Oss, The Netherlands), was carried out in Switzerland in 1183 women.
Methods: Assessments included duration of use, bleeding pattern, side-effects and subjective acceptability and satisfaction with the method.
Results: A total of 991 women (84%) had at least one follow-up visit and 306 (26%) had two visits with a mean duration between insertion and follow-up of 224 days (7.4 months) and 347 days (11.4 months), respectively. Implanon was removed prematurely in 235 women (24%), primarily because of side-effects (20%) and for family planning reasons (4%). Side-effects leading to discontinuation were mainly bleeding disturbances (45%), acne (12%) and other reasons (15%). The mean duration between insertion and removal for discontinuers was 280 days (9.2 months). Side-effects related to bleeding (visit 1) included infrequent bleeding (28%), amenorrhea (33%), prolonged bleeding (15%), and metromenorrhagia (frequent and heavy bleeding) (16%). Other reported side-effects at visit 1 included dizziness (12%), acne (11%), mood swings (8%) and headache (5%). The incidence of side-effects reported at visit 2 was generally comparable to that at visit 1.
Conclusions: The results of this study show that early discontinuation of implant use is primarily due to bleeding problems. Extensive counseling before implant insertion may help to prevent this. It is also important to develop an easy solution to successfully treating progestogen-induced bleeding disturbances.