Endometriosis-associated pain scores and biomarkers in users of the etonogestrel-releasing subdermal implant or the 52-mg levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system for up to 24 months

Deborah Margatho, Margatho D, Nelsilene Mota Carvalho, Carvalho NM, Luis Bahamondes, Bahamondes L, Luís Bahamondes
The European journal of contraception & reproductive health care : the official journal of the European Society of Contraception · 2020 · vol. 25(2) , pp. 133–140 · doi:10.1080/13625187.2020.1725461 · PMID:32069126 · W3006926838
RCT OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 23 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This study found that both etonogestrel implants and levonorgestrel IUDs reduced endometriosis-associated pain and soluble CD23 levels, with only etonogestrel implants significantly decreasing CA-125 over 24 months.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Objectives: The aims of the study were to correlate endometriosis-associated pain, evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, with serum levels of etonogestrel (ENG), levonorgestrel (LNG), CA-125 and soluble CD23 in users of the ENG implant or the 52-mg LNG-releasing intrauterine system (52 mg LNG-IUS) for up to 2 years after device placement.Methods: A randomised trial was conducted at the University of Campinas Medical School, Brazil. All participants (n = 103) had had endometriosis-associated chronic pelvic pain or dysmenorrhoea, or both, for more than 6 months. Participants were randomly assigned to use an ENG implant (experimental treatment) or a 52-mg LNG-IUS (active comparator). Follow-up was conducted 6 monthly for up to 24 months after device placement. Dysmenorrhoea and chronic pelvic pain were evaluated using a VAS and the scores were correlated with serum levels of ENG, LNG, CA-125 and soluble CD23.Results: Both progestin-only contraceptives significantly reduced VAS scores for dysmenorrhoea and chronic pelvic pain and reduced serum levels of soluble CD23 (p < 0.001). Serum levels of CA-125 decreased only in the ENG implant group after 24 months' use of the device (p  0.005).Conclusion: Both contraceptives improved dysmenorrhoea and chronic pelvic pain scores in women with endometriosis-associated pain and they reduced serum levels of soluble CD23; however, serum levels of CA-125 were reduced only in ENG implant users over the 24-month study period.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Outcome instruments

VAS-pain

Condition tags

dysmenorrheaendometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Desogestrel Endometriosis Levonorgestrel Adolescent Adolescent Adult Adult Brazil Brazil CA-125 Antigen CA-125 Antigen CA-125 Antigen Desogestrel Desogestrel Desogestrel Drug Implants Drug Implants Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (34)

Cited by (24)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-10-20T06:13:28.455750+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-10-08T21:26:40.963384+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-10-20T06:27:24.728081+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK