Adolescents and Norplant: preliminary findings of side effects.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate side effects such as menstrual irregularities, weight gain, and blood pressure changes among adolescent females who had been implanted with Norplant eight or more months.


METHODS
A retrospective chart review was completed on adolescents who received care through an outpatient adolescent gynecology service. Subjects (n = 110) with an average age of 17.2 years were implanted with Norplant between March 1991 and February 1992. The mean length of time since implantation was 12.7 months and 64% were African-American. Data collected included: dates of all medical visits; presence of acne, mood changes, and menstrual patterns following implantation. Measurements of blood pressure and weight were taken at implantation and at all subsequent visits.


RESULTS
Weights for Caucasian females at the last visit were significantly higher than at baseline (P < .02). With regard to the African-American females' weight, significant differences were found between baseline weight and each follow-up visit. Although we could not determine the bleeding patterns in 22% of our study sample, almost 40% of the adolescent females followed reported their bleeding to be light as well as regular and cyclic.


CONCLUSIONS
Weight gain was the most frequently observed side-effect of Norplant in adolescents in this study.
Kozlowski
K J
KJ
Department of Obstetrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock 72202, USA.
Rickert
V I
VI
Hendon
A
A
Davis
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001131:Arkansas; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004343:Drug Implants; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016912:Levonorgestrel / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008598:Menstruation / Q000187:drug effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D004343:Drug Implants; D016912:Levonorgestrel