https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1471-0528.14640

Epidemiology of uterine fibroids: a systematic review

Objectives The aim of this guideline is to provide clinicians with an understanding of the pathophysiology, prevalence, and clinical significance of myomata and the best evidence available on treatment modalities. Options The areas of clinical practice considered in formulating this guideline were assessment, medical treatments, conservative treatments of myolysis, selective uterine artery occlusion, and surgical alternatives including myomectomy and hysterectomy. The risk-to-benefit ratio must be examined individually by the woman and her health care provider. Outcomes Implementation of this guideline should optimize the decision-making process of women and their health care providers in proceeding with further investigation or therapy for uterine leiomyomas, having considered the disease process and available treatment options, and reviewed the risks and anticipated benefits. Evidence Published literature was retrieved through searches of PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Systematic Reviews in February 2013, using appropriate controlled vocabulary (uterine fibroids, myoma, leiomyoma, myomectomy, myolysis, heavy menstrual bleeding, and menorrhagia) and key words (myoma, leiomyoma, fibroid, myomectomy, uterine artery embolization, hysterectomy, heavy menstrual bleeding, menorrhagia). The reference lists of articles identified were also searched for other relevant publications. Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized control trials/controlled clinical trials, and observational studies. There were no date limits but results were limited to English or French language materials. Searches were updated on a regular basis and incorporated in the guideline to January 2014. Grey (unpublished) literature was identified through searching the websites of health technology assessment and health technology-related agencies, clinical practice guideline collections, and national and international medical specialty societies. Benefits, Harms, and Costs The majority of fibroids are asymptomatic and require no intervention or further investigations. For symptomatic fibroids such as those causing menstrual abnormalities (e.g. heavy, irregular, and prolonged uterine bleeding), iron defficiency anemia, or bulk symptoms (e.g., pelvic pressure/pain, obstructive symptoms), hysterectomy is a definitive solution. However, it is not the preferred solution for women who wish to preserve fertility and/or their uterus. The selected treatment should be directed towards an improvement in symptomatology and quality of life. The cost of the therapy to the health care system and to women with fibroids must be interpreted in the context of the cost of untreated disease conditions and the cost of ongoing or repeat investigative or treatment modalities. Values The quality of evidence in this document was rated using the criteria described in the Report of the Caadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (Table 1). Summary Statements 1.Uterine fibroids are common, appearing in 70% of women by age 50; the 20% to 50% that are symptomatic have considerable social and economic impact in Canada. (II-3) 2.The presence of uterine fibroids can lead to a variety of clinical challenges. (III) 3.Concern about possible complications related to fibroids in pregnancy is not an indication for myomectomy except in women who have had a previous pregnancy with complications related to these fibroids. (III) 4.Women who have fibroids detected in pregnancy may require additional maternal and fetal surveillance. (II-2) 5.Effective medical treatments for women with abnormal uterine bleeding associated with uterine fibroids include the levonorgestrel intrauterine system, (I) gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues, (I) selective progesterone receptor modulators, (I) oral contraceptives, (II-2) progestins, (II-2) and danazol. (II-2) 6.Effective medical treatments for women with bulk symptoms associated with fibroids include selective progesterone receptor modulators and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues. (I) 7.Hysterectomy is the most effective treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids. (III) 8.Myomectomy is an option for women who wish to preserve their uterus or enhance fertility, but carries the potential for further intervention. (II-2) 9.Of the conservative interventional treatments currently available, uterine artery embolization has the longest track record and has been shown to be effective in properly selected patients. (II-3) 10.Newer focused energy delivery methods are promising but lack long-term data. (III) Recommendations 1.Women with asymptomatic fibroids should be reassured that there is no evidence to substantiate major concern about malignancy and that hysterectomy is not indicated. (III-D) 2.Treatment of women with uterine leiomyomas must be individualized based on symptomatology, size and location of fibroids, age, need and desire of the patient to preserve fertility or the uterus, the availability of therapy, and the experience of the therapist. (III-B) 3.In women who do not wish to preserve fertility and/or their uterus and who have been counselled regarding the alternatives and risks, hysterectomy by the least invasive approach possible may be offered as the definitive treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids and is associated with a high level of satisfaction. (II-2A) 4.Hysteroscopic myomectomy should be considered first-line conservative surgical therapy for the management of symptomatic intracavitary fibroids. (II-3A) 5.Surgical planning for myomectomy should be based on mapping the location, size, and number of fibroids with the help of appropriate imaging. (III-A) 6.When morcellation is necessary to remove the specimen, the patient should be informed about possible risks and complications, including the fact that in rare cases fibroid(s) may contain unexpected malignancy and that laparoscopic power morcellation may spread the cancer, potentially worsening their prognosis. (III-B) 7.Anemia should be corrected prior to proceeding with elective surgery. (II-2A) Selective progesterone receptor modulators and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues are effective at correcting anemia and should be considered preoperatively in anemic patients. (I-A) 8.Use of vasopressin, bupivacaine and epinephrine, misoprostol, peri-cervical tourniquet, or gelatin-thrombin matrix reduce blood loss at myomectomy and should be considered. (I-A) 9.Uterine artery occlusion by embolization or surgical methods may be offered to selected women with symptomatic uterine fibroids who wish to preserve their uterus. Women choosing uterine artery occlusion for the treatment of fibroids should be counselled regarding possible risks, including the likelihood that fecundity and pregnancy may be impacted. (II-3A) 10.In women who present with acute uterine bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, conservative management with estrogens, selective progesterone receptor modulators, antifibrinolytics, Foley catheter tamponade, and/or operative hysteroscopic intervention may be considered, but hysterectomy may become necessary in some cases. In centres where available, intervention by uterine artery embolization may be considered. (III-B)

The Management of Uterine Leiomyomas

In 2009 the Uterine Bleeding and Pain Women's Research Study (UBP-WRS) was conducted interviewing 21,479 women across 8 countries in order to gain patient-based prevalence data on uterine pain and bleeding indications and investigate uterine symptoms and women's treatment experiences. This article shows relevant results of the study for the indication uterine fibroids providing data on self-reported prevalence, symptomatology and management of uterine fibroids. 2,500 women (USA: 4,500 women) in each country (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, the UK, the USA) completed an online survey. Women included were in their reproductive age (age group 15-49 years; USA: 18-49 years) and had ever experienced menstrual bleedings. Quotas were applied for age, region, level of education and household income of respondents. Variables have been analyzed descriptively and exploratory statistical tests have been performed. The self-reported prevalence of uterine fibroids ranged from 4.5% (UK) to 9.8% (Italy), reaching 9.4% (UK) to 17.8% (Italy) in the age group of 40-49 years. Women with a diagnosis of uterine fibroids reported significantly more often about bleeding symptoms than women without a diagnosis: heavy bleedings (59.8% vs. 37.4%), prolonged bleedings (37.3% vs. 15.6%), bleeding between periods (33.3% vs. 13.5%), frequent periods (28.4% vs. 15.2%), irregular and predictable periods (36.3% vs. 23.9%). Furthermore women with diagnosed uterine fibroids reported significantly more often about the following pain symptoms: pressure on the bladder (32.6% vs. 15.0%), chronic pelvic pain (14.5% vs. 2.9%), painful sexual intercourse (23.5% vs. 9.1%) and pain occurring mid-cycle, after and during menstrual bleeding (31.3%, 16.7%, 59.7%, vs. 17.1%, 6.4%, 52.0%). 53.7% of women reported that their symptoms had a negative impact on their life in the last 12 month, influencing their sexual life (42.9%), performance at work (27.7%) and relationship & family (27.2%). Uterine fibroid is a common concern in women at fertile age causing multiple bleeding and pain symptoms which can have a negative impact on different aspects in women's life.

/pdf/prevalence-symptoms-and-management-of-uterine-fibroids-an-4zm851528z.pdf

Prevalence, symptoms and management of uterine fibroids: an international internet-based survey of 21,746 women

Background
Fibroids are common benign tumours arising in the uterus. Myomectomy is the surgical treatment of choice for women with symptomatic fibroids who prefer or want uterine conservation. Myomectomy can be performed by conventional laparotomy, by mini-laparotomy or by minimal access techniques such as hysteroscopy and laparoscopy.

Objectives
To determine the benefits and harms of laparoscopic or hysteroscopic myomectomy compared with open myomectomy.

Search methods
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (inception to July 2014), the Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group (MDSG) Specialised Register of Controlled Trials (inception to July 2014), MEDLINE(R) (inception to July 2014), EMBASE (inception to July 2014), PsycINFO (inception to July 2014) and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (inception to July 2014) to identify relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs). We also searched trial registers and references from selected relevant trials and review articles. We applied no language restriction in these searches.

Selection criteria
All published and unpublished randomised controlled trials comparing myomectomy via laparotomy, mini-laparotomy or laparoscopically assisted mini-laparotomy versus laparoscopy or hysteroscopy in premenopausal women with uterine fibroids diagnosed by clinical and ultrasound examination were included in the meta-analysis.

Data collection and analysis
We conducted study selection and extracted data in duplicate. Primary outcomes were postoperative pain, reported in six studies, and in-hospital adverse events, reported in eight studies. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay, reported in four studies, operating time, reported in eight studies and recurrence of fibroids, reported in three studies. Each of the other secondary outcomes—improvement in menstrual symptoms, change in quality of life, repeat myomectomy and hysterectomy at a later date—was reported in a single study. Odds ratios (ORs), mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and data combined using the fixed-effect model. The quality of evidence was assessed using Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methods.

Main results
We found 23 potentially relevant trials, of which nine were eligible for inclusion in this review. The nine trials included in our meta-analysis had a total of 808 women. The overall risk of bias of included studies was low, as most studies properly reported their methods.

Postoperative pain: Postoperative pain was measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS), with zero meaning 'no pain at all' and 10 signifying 'pain as bad as it could be.' Postoperative pain was significantly less, as determined by subjectively assessed pain score at six hours (MD -2.40, 95% CI -2.88 to -1.92, one study, 148 women, moderate-quality evidence) and 48 hours postoperatively (MD -1.90, 95% CI -2.80 to -1.00, two studies, 80 women, I² = 0%, moderate-quality evidence) in the laparoscopic myomectomy group compared with the open myomectomy group. This means that among women undergoing laparoscopic myomectomy, mean pain score at six hours and 48 hours would be likely to range from about three points lower to one point lower on a VAS zero-to-10 scale. No significant difference in postoperative pain score was noted between the laparoscopic and open myomectomy groups at 24 hours (MD -0.29, 95% CI -0.7 to 0.12, four studies, 232 women, I² = 43%, moderate-quality evidence). The overall quality of these findings is moderate; therefore further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate.

In-hospital adverse events: No evidence suggested a difference in unscheduled return to theatre (OR 3.04, 95% CI 0.12 to 75.86, two studies, 188 women, I² = 0%, low-quality evidence) and laparoconversion (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.44 to 2.83, eight studies, 756 women, I² = 53%, moderate-quality evidence) when open myomectomy was compared with laparoscopic myomectomy. Only one study including 148 women reported injury to pelvic organs (no events were described in other studies), and no significant difference was noted between laparoscopic myomectomy and laparoscopically assisted mini-laparotomy myomectomy (OR 3.04, 95% CI 0.12 to 75.86). Significantly lower risk of postoperative fever was observed in the laparoscopic myomectomy group compared with groups treated with all types of open myomectomy (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.77, I² = 0%, six studies, 635 women). This indicates that among women undergoing laparoscopic myomectomy, the risk of postoperative fever is 50% lower than among those treated with open surgery. No studies reported immediate hysterectomy, uterine rupture, thromboembolism or mortality. Six studies including 549 women reported haemoglobin drop, but these studies were not pooled because of extreme heterogeneity (I² = 97%) and therefore could not be included in the analysis.

Authors' conclusions
Laparoscopic myomectomy is a procedure associated with less subjectively reported postoperative pain, lower postoperative fever and shorter hospital stay compared with all types of open myomectomy. No evidence suggested a difference in recurrence risk between laparoscopic and open myomectomy. More studies are needed to assess rates of uterine rupture, occurrence of thromboembolism, need for repeat myomectomy and hysterectomy at a later stage.

Minimally invasive surgical techniques versus open myomectomy for uterine fibroids

Introduction: Increasing evidence suggests that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) contribute to male reproductive diseases and disorders. Purpose: To estimate the incidence/prevalence of selected male reproductive disorders/diseases and associated economic costs that can be reasonably attributed to specific EDC exposures in the European Union (EU). Methods: An expert panel evaluated evidence for probability of causation using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change weight-of-evidence characterization. Exposure-response relationships and reference levels were evaluated, and biomarker data were organized from carefully identified studies from the peer-reviewed literature to represent European exposure and approximate burden of disease as it occurred in 2010. The cost-of-illness estimation utilized multiple peer-reviewed sources. Results: The expert panel identified low epidemiological and strong toxicological evidence for male infertility attributable to phthalate exposure, with a 40–69% probabili...

/pdf/female-reproductive-disorders-diseases-and-costs-of-exposure-2f540401bx.pdf

Female Reproductive Disorders, Diseases, and Costs of Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the European Union

The burden of uterine fibroids in five European countries

How well do perimenopausal patients accept outpatient hysteroscopy? Visual analogue scoring of acceptability and pain in 100 women

Principles of safe laparoscopic entry.

Hysteroscopic views and endometrial behavior

http://www.ejog.org/article/S0301211521007375/pdf

60 COVID Collaboration – NHS elective caesarean sections in a private maternity hospital setting – The portland hospital experience

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