Progesterone Only Injectable Contraceptives: A Five Year Review of Side Effects and Discontinuation

Context: Progesterone-only injectable contraceptives (POICs) are a long-acting, globally used reversible form of contraception. Menstrual abnormalities are known side effects that can lead to these highly successful and safe contraceptives being discontinued.

Objectives: To evaluate the incidence rate, side effects, discontinuation rate and indication for discontinuation at Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), Port Harcourt, of Norethisteroneenanthate (noristerat) and Depot Medroxyprogesterone acetate (depoprovera).

Methods: A five-year retrospective analysis at the RSUTH family planning clinic of 874 clients from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2019. Their papers were recovered from the hospital and checked. Data has been extracted, coded and analyzed using the IBM version 25.0 Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) (Armonk, NY). Where applicable, the Chi square test was used as the significance test and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically important.

Results: Out of 874 contraceptive acceptors, one hundred and thirty eight clients approved and used POICs during the study period, giving a prevalence rate of 15.8 percent.

The women chose Depot Medroxyprogesterone acetate more often. The modal age group for 866 years was 25-34 years (62.3 percent ). The age range was between 19-48 years, and para 2 was the modal parity. The majority of clients had formal schooling, 137 (99.3 percent), married, 128 (92.8 percent) and 85 (61.6 percent) multipara. The discontinuation rate was 31.9 percent and 25 percent of frequent vaginal bleeding was the most common reason for discontinuation.

Conclusion: POICs had a low prevalence rate and Depot Medroxyprogesterone acetate was more common. Much of the discontinuation was attributed to the contraceptives' side effects.

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