Washington University. US: New research indicates that hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs) and
contraceptive implants remain highly effective one year beyond their
approved duration of use, according to a study at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The preliminary findings are reported online Feb. 5 in Obstetrics
& Gynecology and will appear in the journal’s March 15 print
edition.
The researchers are evaluating whether such long-acting forms of
birth control are effective for up to three years past their recommended
length of use as approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Contraceptive implants — matchstick-sized rods inserted into the arm —
are approved for three years, and hormonal IUDs are approved for five
years.
“This research is important because extended use of these devices
will reduce cost to both the individual and insurer and improve
convenience for women, who can delay removal and re-insertion,” said
first author Colleen McNicholas, DO, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
Earlier studies conducted by the World Health Organization and
European researchers have shown that IUDs and implants may be effective
for longer periods of time.
These long-acting contraceptive methods are garnering renewed
attention in the United States because of their superior effectiveness
over other forms of birth control, such as pills and condoms. The
researchers evaluated the hormonal IUD Mirena and contraceptive implants
Implanon and Nexplanon.
The study aims to enroll a total of 800 women. The initial analysis
included 237 women who used implants and 263 women who used hormonal
IUDs.
Study participants were 18 to 45 years old, and their contraceptives
had to be within six months of expiring when they enrolled. The women
were informed of a possible risk of pregnancy if the devices were used
beyond the time periods approved by the FDA.
The researchers documented no pregnancies in the implant group and
one pregnancy in the IUD group. This failure rate is similar to that of
IUDs used within the recommended five-year window of time.
The researchers will continue to follow the women and others who
enroll in the study. The final results will determine if contractive
IUDs and implants are effective for up to three years beyond
FDA-approved duration of use.
“The longer a contraceptive method is effective, the bigger the impact it can have,” said senior author Jeffrey Peipert,
MD, PhD, the Robert J. Terry Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“In the long term, this work has the potential to change how we provide
contraceptive methods around the world and can enable women to control
their reproductive health and family size.”
This project was supported by the Society of Family
Planning; the
Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences
National Center for Research Resources, grant UL1; the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, grant RR024992; the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), award T32HD055172;
and an anonymous foundation.
McNicholas
C, Maddipati R, Zhao Q, Swor E, Peipert JF. Use of the estronogestrel
implant and levonorgestrel intrauterine device beyond the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration-approved duration. Obstetrics & Gynecology,
online Feb. 5; in print March 2015.