Special Warning : אזהרת שימוש

4.4 Special warnings and precautions for use
Medical Examination

Bef ore insertion, a complete personal and family medical history should be taken.
Physical examination should be guided by this and by the contraindications and warnings f or use. Pulse and blood pressure should be measured and a bimanual pelvic examination performed to establish the orientation of the uterus. The patient should be re-examined six weeks after insertion and further examinations should be performed where clinically indicated and adapted to the individual woman rather than as routine procedure. Prior to insertion pregnancy should be excluded and genital infection should be successfully treated. Women should be advised that Mirena does not protect against HIV (AIDs) and other sexually transmitted disease (please refer to the section below on pelvic infections).

Women should be encouraged to attend cervical and breast screening as appropriate for their age.

For the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms, HRT should only be initiated for symptoms that adversely affect quality of life. In all cases, a careful appraisal of the risks and benef its should be undertaken at least annually and HRT should only be continued as long as the benefit outweighs the risk. The contraindications and warnings for the oestrogen component should also be considered prior to commencing the HRT regimen.

Conditions under which Mirena can be used with caution

Should any of the following conditions exist or arise for the first time during treatment, removal of the system should be considered:

- Migraine with aura

- Unusually severe or unusually frequent headache
- Jaundice

- Marked increase in blood pressure

- Malignancies affecting the blood or leukaemias in remission
- Use of chronic corticosteroid therapy

- Past history of symptomatic functional ovarian cysts

- Active or previous severe arterial disease, such as stroke or myocardial infarction (See section 4.3 when Mirena is used in conjunction with an oestrogen for HRT use).

- Severe or multiple risk factors for arterial disease

- Thrombotic arterial or any current embolic disease
- Acute venous thromboembolism

In general, women using hormonal contraception should be encouraged to give up smoking.

Mirena should be used with caution in postmenopausal women with advanced uterine atrophy.

Insertion/removal warnings and precautions

General Information: As the insertion technique is different from other intrauterine devices, special emphasis should be given to training in the correct insertion technique.
Instructions for insertion appear in a separate part of this leaflet.

Insertion and removal may be associated with some pain and bleeding. In case of difficult insertion and/or exceptional pain or bleeding during or after insertion, the possibility of perf oration should be considered and appropriate steps should be taken, such as perf orming a physical examination and an ultrasound (see also 'Perforation'). Physical examination alone (including checking of threads) may not be sufficient to exclude partial perf oration.

The procedure may precipitate fainting as a vasovagal reaction, or a seizure in an epileptic patient. In the event of early signs of a vasovagal attack, insertion may need to be abandoned or the system removed. The woman should be kept supine, the head lowered and the legs elevated to the vertical position if necessary in order to restore cerebral blood flow. A clear airway must be maintained; an airway should always be at hand. Persistent bradycardia may be controlled with intravenous atropine. If oxygen is available it may be administered.

Perforation: Perforation of the uterine corpus or cervix may occur, most commonly during insertion, although it may not be detected until sometime later. This may be associated with severe pain and continued bleeding. If perforation is suspected the system should be removed as soon as possible; surgery may be required.

In a large prospective comparative non-interventional cohort study in IUS/IUD users (N = 61,448 women), with a 1-year observational period, the incidence of perforation was 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1 - 1.6) per 1000 insertions in the entire study cohort; 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1 - 1.8) per 1000 insertions in the Mirena cohort and 1.1 (95% CI: 0.7 - 1.6) per 1000 insertions in the copper IUD cohort.

The study showed that both breastfeeding at the time of insertion and insertion up to 36 weeks af ter giving birth were associated with an increased risk of perforation (see Table 1). Both risk factors were independent of the type of IUS/IUD inserted.

Table 1: Incidence of perforation per 1000 insertions for the entire study cohort observed over 1 year, stratified by breastfeeding and time since delivery at insertion (parous women)

Breastf eeding at time of      Not breastfeeding at time of insertion                               Insertion
Insertion ≤ 36 weeks                    5.6                           1.7 af ter delivery              (95% CI 3.9-7.9; n=6047       (95% CI 0.8-3.1; n=5927 insertions)                   insertions)
Insertion > 36 weeks                  1.6                            0.7 af ter delivery              (95% CI 0.0-9.1; n=608       (95% CI 0.5-1.1; n=41,910 insertions)                    insertions)
Extending the observational period to 5 years in a subgroup of this study (N = 39,009 women inserted with Mirena or copper IUD, 73% of these women had information available over the complete 5 years of follow-up), the incidence of perforation detected at any time during the entire 5-year period was 2.0 (95% CI: 1.6 – 2.5) per 1000 insertions.
Breastf eeding at the time of insertion and insertion up to 36 weeks after giving birth were conf irmed as risk factors also in the subgroup that were followed up for 5 years.
The risk of perforation may be increased in women with a f ixed retroverted uterus.

Re-examination after insertion should follow the guidance given above under the heading "Medical examination" above, which may be adapted as clinically indicated in women with risk f actors for perforation.

Pelvic infection: The insertion tube helps to prevent Mirena from contamination with micro-organisms during the insertion and the Mirena inserter has been designed to minimise the risk of infections. In users of copper intrauterine devices (IUDs), the highest rate of pelvic infections occurs during the first month after insertion and decreases later.

Known risk factors for pelvic inflammatory disease are multiple sexual partners, frequent intercourse and young age. Pelvic infection may have serious consequences as it may impair f ertility and increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy.

As with other gynaecological or surgical procedures, severe infection or sepsis (including group A streptococcal sepsis) can occur f ollowing IUS insertion, although this is extremely rare.

For women using Mirena with symptoms and signs suggestive of pelvic infection, bacteriological examinations are indicated and monitoring is recommended, even with discrete symptoms, and appropriate antibiotics should be started. There is no need to remove Mirena unless the symptoms fail to resolve within the following 72 hours or unless the woman wishes Mirena to be removed. Mirena must be removed if the woman experiences recurrent endometritis or pelvic infection, or if an acute infection is severe.

Complications leading to failure

Expulsion: In clinical trials with Mirena in the indication contraception, the incidence of expulsion was low (<4% of insertions) and in the same range as that reported for other IUDs and IUSs. Symptoms of the partial or complete expulsion of Mirena may include bleeding or pain. However, a system can be expelled from the uterine cavity without the woman noticing it, leading to loss of contraceptive protection. As the system decreases menstrual f low, increase of menstrual flow may be indicative of an expulsion.

Risk of expulsion is increased in

•   Women with history of heavy menstrual bleeding (including women who use Mirena f or treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding).
•   Women with greater than normal BMI at the time of insertion; this risk increases gradually with increasing BMI

Women should be counselled on possible signs of expulsion and how to check the threads of Mirena and advised to contact a healthcare professional if the threads cannot be f elt. A barrier contraceptive (such as a condom) should be used until the location of Mirena has been confirmed.

Partial expulsion may decrease the effectiveness of Mirena.

A partially expelled Mirena should be removed. A new system can be inserted at the time of removal, provided pregnancy has been excluded..

Lost threads: If the retrieval threads are not visible at the cervix on follow-up examination - f irst exclude pregnancy. The threads may have been drawn up into the uterus or cervical canal and may reappear during the next menstrual period. If they cannot be f ound, they may have broken off, the system may have been expelled, or rarely the device may be extrauterine after having perforated the uterus. An ultrasound should be arranged to locate the device and alternative contraception should be advised in the mean time. If an ultrasound cannot locate the device and there is no evidence of expulsion, a plain abdominal X-ray should be performed to exclude an extrauterine device.

Bleeding irregularities

Irregular bleeding: Mirena usually achieves a significant reduction in menstrual blood loss in 3 to 6 months of treatment. Increased menstrual flow or unexpected bleeding may be indicative of expulsion. If menorrhagia persists then the woman should be re-examined.
An assessment of the uterine cavity should be performed using ultrasound scan. An endometrial biopsy should also be considered.

Risk in pre-menopausal women

Because irregular bleeding/spotting may occur during the first months of therapy in pre- menopausal women, it is recommended to exclude endometrial pathology before insertion of Mirena.

Risk in post-menopausal women

If the woman continues the use of Mirena inserted earlier for contraception, endometrial pathology has to be excluded if bleeding disturbances appear after commencing oestrogen replacement therapy. If bleeding irregularities develop during a prolonged treatment, appropriate diagnostic measures should also be taken as irregular bleeding may mask symptoms and signs of endometrial polyps or cancer.

When to check for pregnancy in women of child bearing potential: The possibility of pregnancy should be considered if menstruation does not occur within six weeks of the onset of previous menstruation and expulsion should be excluded. A repeated pregnancy test is not necessary in amenorrhoeic subjects unless indicated by other symptoms. In a study in women who used Mirena for contraception (n=130), oligomenorrhoea and amenorrhoea were reported in 57% and 16% of women respectively at the end of the first year of use.

Treatment review advice for Menorrhagia: Mirena usually achieves a significant reduction in menstrual blood loss in 3 to 6 months of treatment. If significant reduction in blood loss is not achieved in these time-frames, alternative treatments should be considered.

Other risks during use

Ectopic pregnancy: The absolute risk of ectopic pregnancy in Mirena users is low.
However, when a woman becomes pregnant with Mirena in situ, the relative likelihood of ectopic pregnancy is increased. The possibility of ectopic pregnancy should be considered in the case of lower abdominal pain - especially in connection with missed periods or if an amenorrhoeic woman starts bleeding. In a large prospective comparative non-interventional cohort study with an observation period of 1 year, the ectopic pregnancy rate with Mirena was 0.02%. In clinical trials, the absolute rate of ectopic pregnancy in users of Mirena was approximately 0.1% per year. This rate is lower than the rate of 0.3-0.5 % per year estimated for women not using any contraception. Women with a previous history of ectopic pregnancy carry a higher risk of a f urther ectopic pregnancy.

Ovarian Cysts: Since the contraceptive effect of Mirena is mainly due to its local effect, ovulatory cycles with follicular rupture usually occur in women of fertile age. Sometimes atresia of the follicle is delayed and folliculogenesis may continue. These enlarged f ollicles cannot be distinguished clinically from ovarian cysts. Data from clinical trials suggest that ovarian cysts have been reported as an adverse drug reaction in approximately 7% of women using Mirena, however some published studies have reported a higher incidence of ovarian cysts (which could have been influenced by f actors including frequency and criteria of ultrasound scanning, and patient population).
Most of these follicles are asymptomatic, although some may be accompanied by pelvic pain or dyspareunia.

In most cases, the ovarian cysts disappear spontaneously during two to three months' observation. Should this not happen, continued ultrasound monitoring and other diagnostic/therapeutic measures are recommended. Rarely, surgical intervention may be required.

Breast cancer:

Risk in pre-menopausal women
A meta-analysis from 54 epidemiological studies reported that there is a slightly increased relative risk (RR = 1.24) of having breast cancer diagnosed in women who are currently using combined oral contraceptives (COCs), mainly using oestrogen- progestogen preparations. The excess risk gradually disappears during the course of the 10 years af ter cessation of COC use. Because breast cancer is rare in women under 40 years of age, the excess number of breast cancer diagnoses in current and recent COC users is small in relation to the overall risk of breast cancer.

The risk of having breast cancer diagnosed in users of progestogen-only methods (POPs, implants and injectables), including Mirena, is possibly of similar magnitude to that associated with COC. However, for progestogen-only contraceptive preparations, the evidence is based on much smaller populations of users and so is less conclusive than that f or COCs.

Risk in post-menopausal women

The risk of breast cancer is increased in post-menopausal women using systemic (i.e.
oral or transdermal) hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This risk is higher with combined oestrogen-progestogen HRT than with oestrogen-only HRT. The risk of breast cancer when Mirena is prescribed to provide the progestogen component of HRT is not yet known. The product information of the oestrogen component of the treatment should also be consulted for additional information.

Psychiatric disorders:

Depressed mood and depression are well-known undesirable effects of hormonal contraceptive use (see section 4.8). Depression can be serious and is a well-known risk f actor for suicidal behaviour and suicide. Women should be advised to contact their physician in case of mood changes and depressive symptoms, including shortly after initiating the treatment.


General Information

Glucose tolerance: Low-dose levonorgestrel may affect glucose tolerance, and the blood glucose concentration should be monitored in diabetic users of Mirena.

Post-coital contraception: Limited experience suggests that Mirena is not suitable for use as a post-coital contraceptive.


Effects on Driving

4.7 Effects on ability to drive and use machines
There are no known effects on the ability to drive or use machines.