Estudio descriptivo sobre la satisfacción de las usuarias de Implanon® y los motivos para su retirada

Introduction

Implanon® is a subdermal contraceptive implant that is inserted on an outpatient basis. It contains 68 mg of etonogestrel, and is a long-acting reversible contraception method.

Methodology

Longitudinal and retrospective descriptive study of the patients who had Implanon® inserted in our centre between 2015 and 2016. The variables analysed were age, reasons for insertion and removal, time until removal, degree of patient satisfaction, and unwanted pregnancy during the period of use.

Results

In 97.3% of the cases, the reason for insertion was contraception, but there was one case of insertion to control heavy menstrual bleeding. The mean age of insertion was 27.2 years. The percentage continuing with the method after 3 years of follow-up was 43.6%. The most frequent reasons for requesting removal were frequent uterine bleeding (16.2%) and gestational desire (13.5%). Regarding satisfaction, overall 75.7% of the users were satisfied with the method. No pregnancy occurred in the users.

Conclusions

Implanon® is a highly effective contraceptive method, mainly used by patients around the third decade of life. The most frequent side effects observed relate to alterations in the menstrual bleeding pattern, and are among the most frequent reasons for requesting removal of the device.