Medications to ease intrauterine device insertion: a systematic review

Abstract

Overall, most studies found no significant differences between women receiving interventions to ease IUD insertion versus controls. Among women with a recent failed insertion who underwent a second insertion attempt, one RCT found improved insertion success among women using misoprostol versus placebo.

U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, 2016

“…Evidence for misoprostol from two systematic reviews, including a total of 10 randomized controlled trials, suggests that misoprostol does not improve provider ease of insertion, reduce the need for adjunctive insertion measures, or improve insertion success (Level of evidence: I, good to fair, direct) and might increase patient pain and side effects (Level of evidence: I, high quality) (115,116). However, one randomized controlled trial examined women with a recent failed IUD insertion and found significantly higher insertion success with second insertion attempt among women pretreated with misoprostol versus placebo (Level of evidence: I, good, direct) (117).…”

“…Limited evidence on nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and nitric oxide donors generally suggested no positive effect; evidence on lidocaine with administration other than paracervical block was limited and inconclusive (Level of evidence for provider ease of insertion: I, good to poor, direct; Level of evidence for need for adjunctive insertion measures: I, fair, direct; Level of evidence for patient pain: I, high to low quality; Level of evidence for side effects: I, high to low quality) (115,116).…”

Levonorgestrel-Releasing Intrauterine System as a Contraceptive Method in Nulliparous Women: A Systematic Review

“…The inclusion and exclusion criteria are summarized in Table 1. Papers regarding the insertion procedure itself or pain perception and management were not considered, since major systematic reviews on the topics have been published by other authors in recent years [22][23][24]. The following LNG-IUS outcomes were taken into account: efficacy (the rate of unintended pregnancies and Pearl Index (PI)), safety (the rate and kind of side effects), bleeding pattern, satisfaction (various satisfaction rates) and continuation (the rate of continuation and reasons for discontinuation).…”

“…To this day, several systematic reviews on the use of IUD in adolescents and nulliparous women have been conducted. Among those published in the recent years, the main topic became the IUD insertion procedure and pain management in this specific population [22][23][24]. They indicated higher rates of difficulties in insertion, insertion failure and pain during insertion in nulliparous, but at the same time, highlight the existence of potentially helpful interventions, such as cervix preparation with the use of misoprostol or lidocaine anesthesia [22][23][24].…”

“…Among those published in the recent years, the main topic became the IUD insertion procedure and pain management in this specific population [22][23][24]. They indicated higher rates of difficulties in insertion, insertion failure and pain during insertion in nulliparous, but at the same time, highlight the existence of potentially helpful interventions, such as cervix preparation with the use of misoprostol or lidocaine anesthesia [22][23][24]. Other available summaries demonstrated high level of safety and encouraging continuation rates of IUDs in young women [25][26][27].…”