Ultrasound-guided intrauterine device insertion: a step closer to painless insertion: a randomized control trial.

Aim of study: To reduce the pain and duration of the intrauterine device (IUD) insertion procedure through minimizing instrumentation and using trans-abdominal sonography (TAS). Methods: This randomized control trial was conducted in a university hospital and included 102 eligible females, fulfilling the inclusion criteria. They were randomly assigned into two groups via 1:1 computer-based randomization program; the trans-abdominal guided IUD insertion group (n=51), and the traditional IUD insertion group (n=51). The main outcomes were the pain experienced during the procedure as scored by the visual analogue score and the duration of the procedure. Results: The trans-abdominal guided IUD insertion was found to be statistically superior to the traditional technique for IUD insertion regarding the pain scores (according to the Visual Analogue Scale, from 0 to 10) recorded by the candidates (2.4 +/- 2.1 vs. 5.0 +/- 1.7, p<.001) as well as the time (in seconds) taken for IUD insertion procedure (32.2 +/- 14.8 vs. 77.7 +/- 30.6, p < .001). Conclusions: Due to the decrease in pain and time taken for IUD insertion, the trans-abdominal guided technique can be used as a modified technique for IUD insertion.