Contraception
Volume 53, Issue 1 , Pages 25-32, January 1996

Evidence against tailstrings increasing the rate of pelvic inflammatory disease among IUD users

  • Kristie L. Ebi

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationName and address for correspondence: Kristie L. Ebi, Ph.D., M.P.H., Manager, Epidemiology & Toxicology, EMF Effects Assessment and Management, Electric Power Research Institute, 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 Tel: (415) 855-2735; Fax: (415) 855-1069
    • Failure Analysis Associates, Inc., 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA Tel: (415) 688-7124; FAX (415) 326-8072
    • Current address: Electric Power Research Institute, 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA
    • ,
  • Robert L. Piziali

      Affiliations

    • Failure Analysis Associates, Inc., 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA Tel: (415) 688-7124; FAX (415) 326-8072
    • Current address: Piziali & Associates, 655 Sky Way, San Carlos, CA 94070 USA
    • ,
  • Michael Rosenberg

      Affiliations

    • Health Decisions, Inc., 100 Europa Drive, Suite 525, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 USA
    • ,
  • Harry F. Wachob

      Affiliations

    • Failure Analysis Associates, Inc., 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA Tel: (415) 688-7124; FAX (415) 326-8072

Received 25 January 1995; received in revised form 11 October 1995; accepted 13 October 1995.

Abstract 

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether the presence of an IUD tailstring is associated with increased rates of pelvic inflammatory disease among IUD users. Included were seven clinical studies that compared the same IUD with and without a tail, and fifteen clinical studies that compared two similar copper IUDs that differed in the polymer used for the tailstring (polypropylene versus polyethylen). No increase in PID rates was found among users of IUDs with versus without a tail (RR = 1.2, 95% confidence interval 0.6–1.7), or among users of copper IUDs with different tailstring materials (polypropylene vs. polyethylene, RR = 0.9,95% confidence interval 0.4–1.5). These findings support the hypothesis that the presence of a tailstring does not increase the rate of PID among users of IUDs.

Keywords:  PID, IUD, epidemiology

No full text is available. To read the body of this article, please view the PDF online.

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: 0010-7824(95)00253-7

Contraception
Volume 53, Issue 1 , Pages 25-32, January 1996

Article Tools