Contraceptive practice and tuboovarian abscess

The hospital and operative records of 318 women with a discharge diagnosis of tuboovarian abscess (TOA) were reviewed to evaluate the possible relationship between contraceptive usage and the occurrence of TOA. A significantly higher (p < 0.10) proportion of the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) users had acute pelvic inflammatory disease and a significantly lower proportion (p < 0.10) compared to users of other contraceptive methods were surgically treated. The proportions of women with unilateral and bilateral TOAs were similar, regardless of the contraceptive method used. This was true whether diagnosis was based on physical examination alone or confirmed at operation.