Use of Norethindrone Acetate Alone for Postoperative Suppression of Endometriosis Symptoms

Kaser DJ, Daniel J. Kaser, D J Kaser, Stacey A. Missmer, S A Missmer, Missmer SA, Berry KF, Katharine Berry, K F Berry, M R Laufer, Marc R. Laufer, Laufer MR
Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology · 2011 · vol. 25(2) , pp. 105–108 · doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2011.09.013 · PMID:22154396 · W2104287149
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 29 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-07-09 ⓘ

Norethindrone acetate alone effectively reduced postoperative pain and bleeding in adolescent and young adult endometriosis patients and was well-tolerated, with weight gain being the most common side effect.

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

Abstract

Study objectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of norethindrone acetate (NA) as single-agent hormonal therapy for suppression of endometriosis symptoms in adolescents and young adults.DesignRetrospective study.SettingTwo academic medical centers.ParticipantsA keyword search using the query 'NA' was applied to the electronic medical records of all women treated by one gynecologist (M.R.L.) from 1992 to 2010. IRB-approved chart review was then conducted on the index records.InterventionsContinuous treatment with NA (5-15 mg daily).Main outcome measuresPostoperative bleeding and pain scores; adverse effects.ResultsOne hundred and ninety-four patients with surgically diagnosed endometriosis initiated NA postoperatively during the study period. Median patient age was 18.9 years. 92.2% of patients had stage 1 or 2 disease, and distribution was similar among those excluded. Median pain scores decreased from 5 at NA initiation to 0 at follow-up (P = .0001) and bleeding scores from 2 to 0, respectively (P = .001) for all stages of endometriosis. Post-NA bleeding scores were improved regardless of prior hormonal regimen, and post-NA pain scores improved in all patients except for those previously prescribed GnRH-agonist plus add-back. Most patients (55.2%) did not report any side effects. The most common adverse effect was weight gain (16.1%), with a mean increase in BMI of 1.2 ± 1.6 kg/m(2) at 12 months.ConclusionNA alone is a well-tolerated, effective option to manage pain and bleeding for all stages of endometriosis. Among those on prior hormonal therapy, symptoms improved after NA initiation.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Contraceptives, Oral, Synthetic Endometriosis Endometriosis Metrorrhagia Norethindrone Pelvic Pain Adolescent Adult Contraceptives, Oral, Synthetic Contraceptives, Oral, Synthetic Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Metrorrhagia Norethindrone Norethindrone Norethindrone Norethindrone Acetate Pelvic Pain

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 (28)

Cited by (28)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-08-16T09:21:09.727480+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:16:29.858026+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK