The use of progestin subdermal implants in the management of endometriosis-related pain symptoms and quality of life: a systematic review

Kristin Ambacher, Michael Secter, Secter M, Ari P. Sanders, Sanders AP
Current medical research and opinion · 2022 · vol. 38(3) , pp. 479–486 · doi:10.1080/03007995.2022.2031144 · PMID:35048754 · W4206114597
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 12 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

Progestin subdermal implants, specifically etonogestrel and segesterone, significantly reduced endometriosis-related pain and improved quality of life and sexual function in women of reproductive age.

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

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence for the use of progestin subdermal implants for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain symptoms and quality of life.Methods A literature search of PubMed, Ovid (MEDLINE and EMBASE), and Web of Science was performed from inception to December 2020. In addition, a targeted search of cited references was also performed. Our search identified 330 articles of which 17 were deemed eligible for full-text review. Eligible studies included randomized control trials, observational studies, and case series with at least 5 cases, investigating the effect of progestin subdermal implants on endometriosis-related pain scores in women of reproductive age with a clinical, radiologic, or surgical diagnosis of endometriosis. Six articles were excluded after the full-text screen.Results Eleven articles describing a total of 335 patients were eligible for inclusion. Across all studies, etonogestrel- and segesterone-releasing progestin subdermal implants improved VAS pain scores for cyclic pelvic pain/dysmenorrhea (VAS at baseline ranged from 6.1 to 7.5 cm and after treatment from 1.7 to 4.9 cm, n = 121), non-cyclic pelvic pain (baseline VAS 7.2–7.6 cm and after treatment 2.0–3.7 cm, n = 96) and dyspareunia (baseline VAS 1.61–8.3 cm and after treatment 1.0–7.1 cm, n = 87). Symptom improvement with the progestin subdermal implant was equivalent to treatment with depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA; average baseline VAS 6.5 and after DMPA treatment 3.0, compared to 2.0 after treatment with the implant) or the 52 mg levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS; baseline cyclic and non-cyclic pain scores 7.3 and 7.4 respectively decreased to 1.9 and 1.9 after LNG-IUS treatment). Improvements were also demonstrated in quality-of-life scores (average improvement of 36% in all domains of the Endometriosis Health Profile-30 and significant improvements in social functioning, general health, bodily pain, vitality and mental health domains on the Short Form-36 questionnaire) and sexual function (total sexual function score improved from 24 to 25.35 and 26.25 at 6 and 12 months).Conclusion Etonogestrel- and segesterone-releasing progestin subdermal implants appear to improve endometriosis-related pain symptoms and quality of life and may provide an additional component in the management of endometriosis. However, this systematic review is limited by the small sample size and heterogeneity in the data. As such, larger prospective randomized trials are needed to guide further management. PROSPERO Registration CRD42021225665

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Outcome instruments

EHP-30 VAS-pain

Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paindysmenorrheadyspareunia

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Intrauterine Devices, Medicated Female Humans Levonorgestrel Levonorgestrel Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Progestins Progestins Prospective Studies Quality of Life

Citation neighborhood

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. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (26)

Cited by (14)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-08-31T06:09:41.840111+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:24:03.506079+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK