MLCu250 IUD: a decade of experience

The paper summarizes the author's ten-year experience with 1446 interval insertions of the MLCu250 Standard type device. The 120th month was completed by 106 patients and the cumulative woman-months of use were 78,078. For evaluating the overall performance, gross cumulative and yearly specific life table termination and continuation rates were calculated as suggested by Tietze. The cumulative pertinent rates at the end of the ten-year follow-up period were as follows: pregnancy, 9.9; expulsion, 8.8; bleeding/pain removal, 33.4; and removal for other medical reasons, 24.5. The gross annual rates for the same conditions at the end of the first year of use were: 2.4, 4.4, 5.1 and 1.2, while at the 120th month they were: 0.8, 0.0, 6.1 and 5.5, respectively. The continuation rate was 83.7 at the 12th month, and 26.7 at the end of the 10th year. Based on this evaluation, the MLCu250 Standard IUD has a good overall performance and a longer life span than was previously expected.