[Nova-T and Copper-T in a 5 years' comparison]

A multi-centre randomized comparative study for five years was conducted on the efficacy of the Nova-T and the copper-T-200 intra-uterine contraceptive devices. A total of 1865 insertions during the last days of menstruation or a few days following menstruation or immediately following a therapeutic abortion (in 322 women) was performed. The cumulative total Pearl-Index during the five years of the study was 0.8 for the Nova-T and 2.0 for the copper-T-200. The pregnancy rate for the Nova-T was lower than for the copper-T-200 in each country, each age group and each parity group. The copper-T was expelled most frequently in the youngest age group and most rarely in the oldest age group. Evaluated by the expulsion rate, the retention of the Nova-T was not influenced by age and much less influenced by parity than the retention of the copper-T. Because of the small diameter of the insertion tube, there were no problems with the insertion of the Nova-T. The removal of the Nova-T was easy and uncomplicated. In our study, the fertility returned unencumbered irrespective of a wearing time of the device for more or less than two years. The results show, that the Nova-T is an excellent device for intra-uterine contraception.