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Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

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  • Title: Researchers assess data on long-term safety of non-surgical sterilization method.
    Journal: Netw Res Triangle Park N C; 1991 Sep; 12(2):26-7. PubMed ID: 12284277.
    Abstract:
    Concerned over a possible link to cancer, researchers from Family Health International (FHI) have begun investigating the long-term safety of the chemical used for non-surgical sterilization, a study being carried out among Chilean women. In the late 1960s, the chemical quinacrine hydrochloride was found to be an effective means of occluding the Fallopian tubes for the purpose of contraceptive sterilization. This is done through the transcervical insertion of 2 quinacrine pellets, which inserted 1 month apart. The use of quinacrine has several advantages over surgical sterilization: no incision, general anesthesia, or hospitalization is required; it can be performed by paramedics on an outpatient basis; and it effectively prevents pregnancy. Quinacrine, however, also has disadvantages, including the fact that it requires 2 applications, that the sterilization cannot be reversed, and that it increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Additionally, the long-term safety of this contraceptive method is not yet known. From the late 1970s to 1986, 572 women in Chile took part in clinical trials of quinacrine, tests which were supported by FHI. Continuing to monitor the health of these women, FHI recently discovered 8 cases of malignancy in 6 different anatomical sites. Although it is not known whether this figures reflect a significant difference in the incidence of malignancies between the trial group and the general population, the finding has prompted the organization to undertake a study of a possible association between the use of quinacrine pellets and malignancy.
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