Chemical Sterilization

Abstract

The contraceptive and behavioral effects of intrauterine injections of various sclerosing agents were examined in the hamster. Silver nitrate, sodium tetradecyl sulfate, ethanol formalin, and quinacrine were found to be effective in causing intrauterine occlusions. Multiple transvaginal injections of quinacrine were found to be effective in preventing pregnancy as long as 125 days after the last administration of the drug. Single injections of quinacrine, while initially effective in preventing pregnancy, did not result in a permanent sterilizing effect. Intrauterine quinacrine injections altered neither estrous cyclicity nor copulatory behavior. Quinacrine, in addition to its sterilizing properties, was found to have abortifacient properties if injected after implantation of the fetuses. With poor technique, a side effect to be considered was intestinal adhesion resulting from peritoneal exposure to the sclerosing agents.