Objectives
This study was undertaken to determine whether 400 mg of prophylactic ibuprofen can
alleviate pain from insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) and to measure level
of pain with improved techniques.
Study design
We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 2019 first-time
IUD users: 1008 women received placebo and 1011 women received 400 mg of ibuprofen.
Participants took the single tablet at least 45 minutes before IUD insertion. Immediately
after insertion, participants recorded level of pain by using a 10-cm visual analog
scale, with the value of 10 meaning “worst imaginable pain.”
Results
Median level of pain was 1.0 for both ibuprofen and placebo participants; rank test
statistics confirmed no difference. Some subgroups of women experienced higher pain
(eg, nulliparous women), but ibuprofen still had no important impact on level of pain.
Conclusion
Even among first-time users, pain from IUD insertion is generally low. Prophylactic
ibuprofen as used in this protocol does not reduce IUD insertion pain.
Key words
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
August 31,
2006
Received in revised form:
July 7,
2006
Received:
April 25,
2006
Footnotes
Supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (HD39717 to D.H.).
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the authors' institutions or the funding entity.
Reprints not available from the authors.
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
