Continuous use of an oral contraceptive for endometriosis-associated recurrent dysmenorrhea that does not respond to a cyclic pill regimen

Paolo Vercellini, Frontino G, Giada Frontino, Olga De Giorgi, Pietropaolo G, Giuliana Pietropaolo, Roberta Pasin, Pasin R, Pier Giorgio Crosignani, Crosignani PG
Fertility and Sterility · 2003 · vol. 80(3) , pp. 560–563 · doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(03)00794-5 · PMID:12969698 · W2068661759
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 188 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This study investigated the efficacy of continuous oral contraceptive use in managing recurrent dysmenorrhea associated with endometriosis that did not improve with cyclic pill regimens.

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Abstract

ObjectiveTo ascertain whether long-term reduction of pain is obtained by continuous administration of an oral contraceptive (OC) in women with endometriosis-associated recurrent dysmenorrhea that does not respond to cyclic OC use.DesignProspective, therapeutic, self-controlled clinical trial.SettingA tertiary care and referral center for patients with endometriosis.Patient(s)Fifty women who underwent surgery for endometriosis in the previous year and experienced recurrent dysmenorrhea despite cyclic OC use.Intervention(s)Continuous use of an OC containing ethinyl estradiol (0.02 mg) and desogestrel (0.15 mg) for 2 years.Main outcome measure(s)Dysmenorrhea variation during cyclic and continuous OC use, evaluated with a 100-mm visual analog scale and a 0- to 3-point verbal rating scale, and degree of satisfaction with continuous OC treatment.Result(s)In the study period, amenorrhea, spotting, and breakthrough bleeding were reported by 19 (38%), 18 (36%), and 13 (26%) women. The mean +/- SD number of >7-day bleeding episodes with consequent 7-day OC suspension was 5.5 +/- 2.1. The mean +/- SD dysmenorrhea visual analog scale and verbal rating scale scores were 75 +/- 13 and 2.4 +/- 0.5 at baseline and 31 +/- 17 and 0.7 +/- 0.6 at 2-year follow-up, respectively. Moderate or severe side effects were reported by 7/50 (14%) women. At final evaluation, 13 (26%) women were very satisfied, 27 (54%) were satisfied, 1 (2%) was uncertain, 8 (16%) were dissatisfied, and 1 (2%) was very dissatisfied.Conclusion(s)Long-term continuous OC use can be proposed to women with symptomatic endometriosis and menstruation-related pain symptoms.

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Condition tags

dysmenorrheaendometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Desogestrel Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Endometriosis Estradiol Congeners Ethinyl Estradiol Progesterone Congeners Adult Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Contraceptives, Oral, Combined Desogestrel Desogestrel Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Endometriosis Estradiol Congeners Estradiol Congeners Ethinyl Estradiol Ethinyl Estradiol

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 (6)

Cited by (50)

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