Intrauterine levobupivacaine for pain control during intrauterine device insertion

Background: Safe, effective, long term and a reversible contraception method is offered by intrauterine devices (IUDs). The objective was to determine the potency of intrauterine administration of 5 cc levobupivacain for pain relief with IUD insertion, when compared with saline placebo.Methods: This was a prospective randomized, double blind placebo-controlled trial undergoing İUD insertion. The trial medication was intrauterine anesthesia, either 5 mL 0.9% saline (control group), or 5 mL 0.5% levobupivacaine. Our primary outcome was self-reported pain scores on a 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS) immediately following IUD insertion.Results: 95 women were enrolled, and data for 88 women were analyzed. In IUD insertion procedure, no difference was observed between groups during teneculum placement and solution administration, in the course of VAS scores (p=0.349, p=0.396). There was a significant difference in the VAS scores measuring pain suffering during and after IUD procedure (p=0.001).Conclusions: Intrauterine instillation of 5 cc of levobupivacaine along with saline solution reduces pain with IUD insertion when compared to intrauterine saline placebo. Broad deviation in pain scores and persistent pain after IUD insertion recommends that patient would benefit from more functioning method of pain control than before at IUD insertion and during the post interval.