Comparison of three types of tubal sterilisation: the medan experience.

Three methods of tubal sterilisation, viz. laparoscopy, culdoscopy and minilaparotomy, were evaluated in a trial involving 300 voluntary acceptors at the University Hospital in Medan, Indonesia. Equal numbers of women were randomly assigned to the three surgical groups. The results showed little differences among patients in the three groups for age, number of living children, contraceptive and abortion histories and pre-existing medical conditions. As expected, average surgical time for minilaparotomy was significantly higher than the times reported for the endoscopic techniques. Minilaparotomy also produced the highest incidence of operative complications while culdoscopy accounted for the highest rate of hospitalisation following operation. Four-year follow-up of the patients revealed only one case of pregnancy in the culdoscopy group, three years after tubectomy .

PIP: 3 methods of tubal sterilization, laparoscopy, culdoscopy, and minilaparotomy, were evaluated in a trial involving 300 volunteer acceptors at the University Hospital in Medan, Indonesia. Equal numbers of women were randomly assigned to the 3 surgical groups. The results showed little differences among patients in the 3 groups for age, number of living children, contraceptive and abortion histories, and preexisting medical conditions. As expected, average surgical time for minilaparotomy was significantly higher than the times reported for endoscopic techniques. Minilaparotomy also produced the highest incidence of operative complications while culdoscopy accounted for the highest rate of hospitalization following the operation. 4-year follow-up of the patients revealed only 1 case of pregnancy in the culdoscopy group, 3 years following tubectomy.

The acceptability of the Copper 7, Multiload 250 and Copper T 220C intrauterine devices.

PIP: 1725 patients were recruited for a prospective, randomized, comparative study of 3 IUDs: the Gravigard (Cu 7), Copper T 220C (T Cu 220C), and the Multiload 250 (ML Cu 250). All 3 devices were acceptable to patients with a continuation rate of over 60% at 2 years. The rates for accidental pregnancy and expulsion at 2 years were significantly higher for the Cu 7 when compared with the ML Cu 250 (P0.05) and the T Cu 220C (P0.01). Use-related terminations were more common with the Cu 7 than the ML Cu 250 (P0.05). All but 1 of the physicians questioned felt that the ML Cu 250 gave the least problems at insertion.^ieng

A randomised comparative evaluation of the copper 7, multiload copper 250 and T copper-22OC IUDs.

Two new Cu-IUDs, the TCu-22OC and Multiload Cu250, were evaluated against the Cu7 in 1,199 subjects in a randomised, multicentric trial using a common study protocol. During the 2 years following insertion, cumulative first-segment rates for total use-related terminations showed no significant differences between the 3 devices; however, the Cu7 had a significantly higher termination rate for accidental pregnancy compared to the TCu-22OC and its expulsion rate was significantly higher than the ML Cu250. The rate of accidental pregnancy was higher and the expulsion rate lower with the ML Cu250 compared to the TCu-22OC but these differences were not significant. The results are discussed in relation to IUD design and their application in family planning.

Sperm-agglutinating antibodies in 236 infertile couples.

PIP: 19 wives of 236 couples had positive sperm agglutination tests. (SPAT) 6 of the 19 belonged to the 70 couples (9.4%) with no no known cause for infertility; 11 belonged to the group of 154 couples (7.1%) with a known cause; and 2 to the 12 couples inadequately investigated (15.7%). 6 of these 19 women (31.6%) became pregnant without condon therapy; of these 6, 3 had no known cause for infertility and 3 had a known cause. 11 husbands had positive sperm aggluatination tests. 4 of these 11 were among the 70 couples (5.6%) with no known cause for infertility, while the other 7 were among the 154 couples (4.5%) with a known cause. 5 of their wives (45.5%) became pregnant without any treatment. Outcomes of 8 of 11 pregnancies were normal deliveries and no abortioons, which showed that positive SPAT had no apparent effect on the pregnancies. There was no relationship between postitive SPAT and history of venereal disease, allergy, autoimmune disease, abortioon, postcoital tests, or ABO imcompatability.^ieng