RESUMO
PIP: The efficacy, tolerance and suitability of the combined use of an IUD and a vaginal spermicide has been studied. The Copper-T IUD was chosen because of the authors' wide experience with this model. The spermicide used was benzalconium chloride (0.0189 g) in the form of vaginal suppositories. 103 women from the outpatient family planning clinic of Hospital Clinico Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Barcelona, were selected at random from women who elected to have an IUD. The women had 1-3 children, were engaged in sexual intercourse at least once a week, and were 18-36 years. They were instructed on how the suppositories should be used to achieve maximum efficacy. They were also advised to use suppositories whenever they had sexual intercourse. 57 of the 103 women used combined method for 12 months, 26 used it for 6 months, whereas 17 only completed 3 months of therapy. 14% of the women complained of pruritus or vaginal discomfort while using the suppositories. The women used the method for 1978 months. Using the life tables of Tietze, the failure rate was 0.8/100 women/year at 6 months of use, and 1.6/100 women/year at 12 months.^ieng
