Epidemiology of Aerobic Bacterial infections Among IUD (intrauterine Device) Users in The Northern West Bank

Intra Uterine Device (IUD) has been the most popular method of contraception among Palestinian women. It is one of the very effective contraceptive methods, with failure rate ranging from 0.5% to 3% (Hatcher et al, 1989) depending on the type of IUD. One of the main problems that face women using IUD is infection Our study is a comparative study of IUD users and non-users. The study sample was from the FP clinics of M01-1 in the 4 main districts of northern West Bank. The purpose was to highlight the epidemiological pattern of IUD related infections in Northern West Bank as a representative of Palestinian women. 200 women (134 case, 66 control) were interviewed, and cervical swabs were collected and cultured for aerobic bacteria. All data were analyzed by SPSS. In general the study findings were consistent with the literature. The following statements worth reporting: The prevalence rate of isolated bacteria was higher among the IUD users than non-users (p< .05), and there was no relation to the type of IUD or duration of use in these rates.(p=.o27) Regardless of the IUD use the study findings showed alteration in the vaginal discharge among women. However this alteration was significantly higher in IUD users (58%) compared to non-users (22%).(P=. 003) The study also showed that the presence of RTI related symptoms among IUD users (61%) compared to non-users (26%) was statistically significant (p=. 000). There was no relationship between the alteration of vaginal discharge with the type of bacteria isolated in both groups (IUD users and non-users). Among the IUD users (case group), isolation of different kinds of bacteria have no significant relation with the alteration of vaginal discharge, (p=. 105), (among the non-users p=0.667).