The Ontario Uterine Fibroid Embolization Trial. Part 1. Baseline patient characteristics, fibroid burden, and impact on life

Uterine artery embolisation versus hysterectomy for leiomyomas: primary and 2-year follow-up results of a randomised prospective clinical trial

“…In addition, two observational multicentre studies comparing UAE and hysterectomy are reported, one prospective [10] and one retrospective [20]. In the multicentre trials published, most individual centres have included only a small number of patients resulting in a Data are numbers of patients and data in parentheses are percentages a These data are not available from four patients because they were not treated b Data are mean ± standard deviations, with ranges in parentheses unless otherwise indicated A strength of our trial is that the research population was unselected; patients were not excluded according to the size or location of leiomyomas or presenting symptoms, i.e.…”

“…Thus far, only three randomised, controlled trials have been reported [4][5][6][7][8][9], only one of which included both menorrhagia and pressure symptoms in the inclusion criteria [5]. In addition, some multicentre case series have been published that compare UAE with hysterectomy [10,11] and evaluate UAE alone [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

The relationship between uterine leiomyomata and pelvic floor symptoms

“…However, of women with symptoms, up to 62 % have more than one [5]. The most commonly cited symptoms of leiomyomata are: abnormal bleeding, pelvic pain, urinary symptoms, "bulk symptoms," colorectal symptoms, and infertility [1,[6][7][8][9].…”

Contemporary management of uterine fibroids: focus on emerging medical treatments

“…African American women are two to three times more likely to develop UFs than Caucasian women 32,33 . Women of African descent also present with a higher number of fibroids, have a longer average duration of disease, and experience greater severity of symptoms 34 .…”

“…In one study, 53.7% of surveyed women with UFs reported a negative impact of their symptoms, influencing their sexual life (42.9%), performance at work (27.7%), and relationships and family (27.2%) 7 . Symptoms can lead to embarrassment (e.g., uncontrolled bleeding episodes in public places and appearance of pregnancy), pain during intercourse, limited ability to exercise, interruption in work, and sleep disturbance 34 . Most worrisome is the finding that women with symptoms of pain and/or bleeding due to benign uterine conditions such as UFs report poorer emotional well-being than women with major chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease 44 .…”