Objective: Our aim was to determine the duration of intrauterine device (IUD) use, reasons for discontinuation, and problems encountered during removal in patients who were admitted to our clinic for removal of IUD.
Materials and methods: We studied 321 cases of IUD removal with respect to duration of use, cause of removal, type of IUD used, and sociodemographic characteristics. The relationships among duration of use, patient's level of education, medical facility where the IUD was inserted, and number of children were analyzed. The reasons for removal and their relationship to duration of use were investigated. We also investigated the problems encountered during removal.
Findings: The mean age of cases included in the study was 34.8+/-1 years, mean number of children was 2.3+/-1.5, and mean duration of use was 5.8+/-3.9 years. The type of IUD most frequently removed was TCu-380A (86.3%). Although there was no correlation between the duration of use and the type of medical facility where the IUD was inserted, we observed that women with more children used IUDs for longer periods. When cases were evaluated for level of education, there was a statistically significant difference between university graduates and illiterate/primary school graduate women (p = .032 and .029, respectively). The reasons for removal were frequently side effects related to IUD use, expired date of use, and desire for conception. Pregnancy during IUD use was observed in 16 cases (5%). Removal of IUD was achieved without problems in 263 cases (81.9%), whereas alligator forceps needed to be used in 44 cases (13.7%).
Conclusion: IUD is the most frequently used contraceptive method in our country. We have observed a long duration of use in the women studied, with minimal problems during removal.