Improvement in parameters of quality of life and uterine volume reduction after uterine fibroid embolization

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate improvement in quality of life, reduction of uterine volume, and the correlation between these two variables after uterine fibroid embolization. Methods Data on quality of life before and after uterine fibroid embolization were collected from 60 patients using the Uterine Fibroid Symptom – Quality of Life questionnaire. In 40 of these patients, uterine volume information on magnetic resonance imaging examinations performed before and after uterine fibroid embolization was collected, and compared using the nonparametric Wilcoxon test for paired data. Correlation between quality of life and uterine volume before and after procedure was measured using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results There was significant improvement in quality of life after uterine fibroid embolization on Uterine Fibroid Symptom – Quality of Life questionnaire, in both subscales scores and the total score. There was a significant median reduction of -37.4% after uterine fibroid embolization, but no correlations between uterine volume and quality of life scores were found before or after embolization. Conclusion Uterine embolization is an alternative to treat uterine fibroids, resulting in relief of symptoms and better quality of life. Although reduction in uterine volume plays an important role in the evaluation of therapeutic success, it does not necessarily have a definitive correlation with relief of symptoms.

摘要

研究目的：评估子宫肌瘤栓塞术（Uterine Fibroid Embolization）后患者生活质量的改善情况、子宫体积的缩减程度，以及这两项指标间的相关性。

研究方法：本研究采用子宫肌瘤症状-生活质量问卷（Uterine Fibroid Symptom – Quality of Life questionnaire），收集了60例子宫肌瘤患者接受子宫肌瘤栓塞术前后的生活质量数据。其中40例患者的子宫体积数据来源于术前及术后的磁共振成像（Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI）检查结果，采用配对资料非参数Wilcoxon检验进行组间对比。同时通过Spearman相关系数，分析手术前后生活质量评分与子宫体积之间的相关性。

研究结果：经子宫肌瘤症状-生活质量问卷评估，子宫肌瘤栓塞术后患者的各亚量表评分及总评分均得到显著改善。术后患者子宫体积较术前中位缩减37.4%，但手术前后子宫体积与生活质量评分均未发现显著相关性。

研究结论：子宫肌瘤栓塞术是治疗子宫肌瘤的可选方案，可有效缓解相关症状并提升患者生活质量。尽管子宫体积缩减对治疗效果的评估具有重要价值，但它与症状缓解程度未必存在明确的关联。