Purpose: To characterise the frequency of and predictors of contraceptive implant discontinuation within 12 months of insertion in our clinical setting.Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study included women receiving the etonogestrel contraceptive implant at our hospital between May 2007 and May 2012. We abstracted data from charts including implant removal date, bleeding complaints, reproductive and demographic characteristics, prior contraceptive use, tobacco use and implant insertion timing. Our primary outcome was implant discontinuation within 12 months following insertion. SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was used to generate frequencies, bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models.Results: Implant discontinuation was documented in 16% of implant users prior to 12 months (89/544). Women with documented bleeding complaints in the medical record were more likely to discontinue within 12 months (OR: 4.36, CI: 2.71, 7.00). No other demographic or clinical characteristics were associated with premature discontinuation. Having less than two prior pregnancies and tobacco use were associated with documented bleeding complaints.Conclusions: Discontinuation of the implant is associated with bleeding complaints. Women with lower parity and tobacco users may be more likely to experience bleeding or to find it intolerable.
Keywords: Bleeding; contraceptive implant; discontinuation; etonogestrel; removal.