These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: An association between the Dalkon Shield and complicated pregnancies among women hospitalized for intrauterine contraceptive device--related disorders.
    Author: Kahn HS, Tyler CW.
    Journal: Am J Obstet Gynecol; 1976 May 01; 125(1):83-6. PubMed ID: 1275008.
    Abstract:
    A nationwide mail survey of virtually all physicians likely to be involved with intrauterine contraception resulted in 3,502 unduplicated reports of intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD)--related hospitalizations during the first six months of 1973. Dalkon Shield use was significantly more frequent among women hospitalized for a complicated pregnancy than those hospitalized for a non-pregnancy-related disorder. Although the observed association was not substantially altered by stratifications of the mail survey reports by the patient's age, race, or geographical region, the association did not apply to those women whose IUD's were explicitly reported to be of the nulliparous size. Interviews conducted with a probability sample of physicians who had not responded to the survey confirmed that the association between the Dalkon Shield and complicated pregnancy also existed in their experience. An association between the standard Dalkon Shield and complicated pregnancies might reflect an increased rate of pregnancy with this device, an increased rate of complications occurring after zygotic implantation, or perhaps both. Whatever the explanation, the observed association is sufficiently widespread to require further investigations. A precoded questionnaire was mailed to 34,544 physicians inquiring about the number of IUDs inserted by them or by paramedical personnel under their supervision during the first 6 months of 1973. Also requested was the number of cases known with IUD-related complications severe enough to have required hospitalization or caused death. The survey elicited 16,994 interpretable responses, a response rate of 49.2%. There were 3502 unduplicated hospitalization repots. Other nonresponding physicians provided 60 more hospitalization reports. A complicated pregnancy was defined as one in which the presence of an IUD may have conributed to such complications as ectopic pregnancy, abruption, or placenta previa. Among patients wearing IUDs and hospitalized for complicated pregnancy, 61.6% were using Dalkon shields. This ratio was considered unlikely to have occurred by chance (p .0005) because Dalkon shield devices were estimted to have been used by only 39% of all reported IUD users. Women using IUDs and hospitalized for disorders not related to pregnancy, but associated with IUD use, showed no significant increase among Dalkon shield wearers.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]