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New Study Indicates that Hysterectomy Leads to Better Outcomes and Greater Patient Satisfaction than Medicine for Abnormal Uterine Bleeding

Press Release Date: March 23, 2004

After unsuccessful treatment with a common hormonal medication, women with abnormal uterine bleeding who underwent hysterectomies experienced greater improvement in their symptoms and expressed higher satisfaction with their overall health 6 months after treatment than women who were prescribed an alternate regimen of oral medication for the same condition, according to a study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and published in March 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., noted that this study shows that hysterectomy has clear benefits for women suffering with abnormal uterine bleeding. "Doctors and patients should discuss the possible risks and benefits of hysterectomy when medications aren't working," she said.

Hysterectomy—surgical removal of the uterus—is the most common non-obstetric surgical procedure performed in U.S. women. In 2000, approximately 633,000 women had hysterectomies, 90 percent of which were performed prior to menopause for abnormal uterine bleeding and other non-life-threatening reasons. In the United States, about 5.6 per 1,000 women have hysterectomies, a rate that is three to four times higher than that of Australia, New Zealand, and most European countries. This, as well as regional variations within this country, has raised questions about whether so many hysterectomies really are needed.

The study, the first randomized controlled trial to compare hysterectomy with oral medical treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding, was conducted by Miriam Kuppermann, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University of California at San Francisco and collaborators from UCSF and four clinical centers across the United States. The study examined differences in outcomes and satisfaction for 63 women ages 30 to 50 years who had experienced abnormal uterine bleeding for an average of 4 years and were dissatisfied with treatment by medroxyprogesterone, a hormone that is commonly prescribed for this condition. Half of the women in the study were randomly selected to have hysterectomies and the other half were treated with an alternate regimen of oral medication selected by the women's gynecologists. All the women were followed for 2 years.

The women who had hysterectomies experienced greater improvements in mental health, sexual desire and functioning, sleep, and overall satisfaction with health. Most of the improvement was evident within 6 months. By the end of the study, half of the women originally assigned to medical treatment had elected to undergo hysterectomies, and their improvements were similar to those of women who were assigned to have hysterectomies at the outset.

"Women who were assigned to take the alternate medical regimen and who continued on medication for the entire 2-year study period also showed improvements, " according to Dr. Kuppermann. "However, these improvements were smaller in magnitude than those of women who underwent hysterectomy. "

The researchers had difficulty recruiting women for this trial due to the reluctance of many women to agree to be assigned randomly either to have a hysterectomy or not. However, the researchers note that there were enough participants to reveal significant differences in quality-of-life outcomes.

Editor's Note: For interviews with the article's authors, please contact Eve Harris in the UCSF Press Office at (415) 885-7277.

TV Note: JAMA has produced a video news release about this article. For information or copies, please call (312) 464-JAMA (5262).

For more information, please contact AHRQ Public Affairs: (301) 427-1858 or (301) 427-1855.


Internet Citation:

New Study Indicates that Hysterectomy Leads to Better Outcomes and Greater Patient Satisfaction than Medicine for Abnormal Uterine Bleeding. Press Release, March 23, 2004. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2004/abuterpr.htm


 

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