Two Years Follow-Up of Patients with Abnormal Uterine Bleeding after Insertion of the Levonorgestrel-Releasing Intrauterine System

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) in the long-term treatment of heavy menstrual blood loss in women unrelated to intrauterine pathology. METHODS: One hundred and six parous women aged 33-48 years with recurrent heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) participated in this study. The women were followed up for 24 months and were assessed for intensity of bleeding both for pre- and post-insertion periods. An LNG-IUS was inserted in each patient within 7 days of the start of menstrual flow. The women were followed up at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months following the insertion of the intrauterine device. RESULTS: One hundred and two women completed the follow-up period and had a significant reduction in the amount of menstrual blood loss. The LNG-IUS was well tolerated by all women. Pre-treatment of the use of the LNG-IUS, endometrial biopsy patterns for irregular proliferative endometrium and for atypical simple hyperplasia were 34/106 (32.08%) and 61/106 (57.55%) respectively and after treatment no abnormal pathologic findings were determined (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the LNG-IUS is effective for significantly reducing the amount of menstrual blood loss in women with HMB.