Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2025 Dec 15. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.70742. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to describe women with fibroids who were treated with ultrasound-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) and to evaluate the outcomes at least 6 months after treatment.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using retrospectively collected data of women treated between November 2015 and December 2018 with USgHIFU at CHBAH. A clinical database that was used at the USgHIFU clinic and medical files were reviewed. The following data were retrieved; demographic information, characteristics of the fibroid (size, number, position, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] intensity), symptoms before and after the procedure. Variables are described using descriptive statistics and were compared using a McNemar’s chi2, t-test or Wilcoxon sign rank test.
RESULTS: The mean age, median body mass index (BMI) and median parity was 35 years (standard deviation [SD] ±5.43), BMI of 25.3 (interquartile range [IQR]: 22.31-29.05), parity 0 (IQR: 0-1; range: 0-6), respectively. The presenting symptoms were dysmenorrhea (85.41%), infertility (50.92%) and menorrhagia (67.69%). The proportion of dysmenorrhea decreased from 84.10% before treatment to 54.06% after treatment. Menorrhagia was reduced from 66.08% to 41.34%. The median size of fibroids changed from 38.00 to 26.88 cm3. These changes were statistically significant.
CONCLUSION: This is the first USgHIFU study that reports outcomes in a South African population. The treatment has resulted in a noticeable alleviation of symptoms and a measurable reduction in fibroid size and this was statistically significant and clinically relevant.
PMID:41392873 | DOI:10.1002/ijgo.70742
