Long-term treatment of endometriosis-related pain among women seeking hormonal contraception

Silvia Vannuccini, Biagiotti C, Chiara Biagiotti, Maria Celeste Esposto, Esposto MC, Francesco La Torre, La Torre F, Sara Clemenza, Clemenza S, Gretha Orlandi, Orlandi G, Capezzuoli T, Tommaso Capezzuoli, Petraglia F, Felice Petraglia
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2022 · vol. 38(5) , pp. 398–402 · doi:10.1080/09513590.2022.2047172 · PMID:35238265 · W4214876580
Observational OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 5 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

Desogestrel (DSG) progestin-only contraceptives effectively reduced endometriosis pain, with patients maintaining DSG therapy long-term more often than combined oral contraceptives (COCs).

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the different effects of a progestin-only contraceptive with desogestrel (DSG) vs combined oral contraceptives (COCs) for a first line long-term treatment of endometriosis-related pain among patients seeking hormonal contraception. METHODS: An observational retrospective cohort study was conducted in collaboration with a local outpatient clinic for endometriosis among a group of nulliparous young women (n = 216) with endometriosis-related pain and seeking contraception. The cohort was subdivided into a group (n = 73) treated as first line by DSG and another group (n = 75) treated by a COC. During the study, clinical symptoms, side effects and possible changes in OC type use were recorded. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of clinical characteristics and pain scores before treatment. After 6 months both treatments were effective in reducing endometriosis-related pain, and those treated with DSG showed lower levels of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and nonmenstrual pelvic pain than COCs group (p < .01). After 12 months, in DSG Group some patients (15%) switched from DSG to a COC for breakthrough bleeding, whereas in COC Group 48% of patients switched to another type of COC for reduced efficacy on pain and/or for side effects. After 3 years of OC treatment, in DSG Group 79% of patients maintained the same therapy, whereas in COC Group only 14% continued the same COC type, 37% switched to another COC and 47% to DSG. CONCLUSIONS: A progestin-only contraceptive with DSG is a valid option for long term management of endometriosis-related pain in patients seeking hormonal contraception.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paindysmenorrheadyspareunia

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Contraception Contraception Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Desogestrel Desogestrel Desogestrel Ethinyl Estradiol Ethinyl Estradiol Ethinyl Estradiol Female Female Hormonal Contraception Hormonal Contraception Humans

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 (41)

Cited by (6)

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