Ultrasound-guided IUD Insertion During Family Medicine Residency Training

The objective of this pilot study is to test that hypothesis that ultrasound guided IUD placement by family medicine residents improves patient pain scores, procedure completion time, and procedure complication rates. The secondary objective is to test the hypothesis that ultrasound guided IUD placement improves resident confidence in performing the procedure. A prospective, randomized controlled pilot study will be conducted in the Department of Academic Family Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. All women undergoing IUD placement (hormonal or non-hormonal) at West Winds Primary Care Center from Mar 1, 2020- Mar 1, 2021 will be invited to participate. Informed consent will be obtained from each patient and the resident inserting the IUD prior to initiating study procedures. The control group will comprise 20 women undergoing non-ultrasound guided IUD placement. The experimental group will comprise 20 women undergoing transabdominal ultrasound guided IUD placement. Patient pain scores and resident confidence scores will be tabulated using likert scales and compared between control and experimental groups using independent sample t-tests. Procedure completion time (minutes) will be compared between groups using t-tests. Procedure complications rates will be categorized as: a) inability to penetrate the cervix, b) improper location, c) inability to release the IUD from the insertion device, d) perforation, e) vasovagal reactions, and f) post-procedure infection; outcomes will be compared between groups using Chi-square analyses.