IUD users in Norway are at low risk for genital C. trachomatis infection

From May 1993 to April 1995, 30 general practitioners located at 13 general practice settings in the city of Trondheim, central Norway, recruited 957 eligible participants in a prospective use-effectiveness study on performance of two copper IUDs. In this report we focus on screening for C. trachomatis at insertion and its possible effect on cause-related terminations during the first 90 days after insertion. All women were screened at IUD insertion for C. trachomatis. All specimens were analyzed applying a nucleic acid test (rRNA, GenProbe). Five out of 957 women (0.5%) were positive for C. trachomatis. All were treated within two weeks of diagnosis. No cases of pelvic inflammatory disease were diagnosed during the first three months of the study. Screening of C. trachomatis at IUD insertion is not recommended in Norwegian women because of the extremely low prevalence of C. trachomatis in those who choose IUD as their primary contraceptive method. Recommendations for universally screening women for sexually transmitted diseases at IUD insertion should be based upon review of local/national prevalence data.