Menstrual blood loss with contraceptive subdermal levonorgestrel implants
Abstract:
Six Silastic capsules each containing 30 mg of levonorgestrel were inserted subcutaneously in the left forearms of 13 volunteer women for contraceptive purposes. Quantitative determinations of menstrual blood loss were performed during a control cycle and during a 1-month period at the 1st, 6th, and 12th months of treatment. Days on which bleeding and spotting occurred were recorded and hemoglobin concentrations were determined. No changes were found in the amount of menstrual blood loss between the control cycles and the treatment cycles. The mean number of bleeding days during each of the three recorded treatment periods was significantly greater than that in the control cycles. No changes in hemoglobin concentration were found. None of the patients became pregnant during the study.
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