RESUMEN

Objective:To investigate the long-term efficacy and the adverse reactions of uterine artery embolization with polyvinyl alcohol granules in the treatment of adenomyosis.Methods:Sixty patients with adenomyosis who received treatment in The Second People's Hospital of Qinzhou from January 2009 to February 2017 were retrospectively included in this study. They were divided into an observation group ( n = 31) and a control group ( n = 29) according to different treatment methods. The observation group was treated by embolization of the uterine artery with a polyvinyl alcohol granule. The control group was treated with a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system. After treatment, all patients were followed up for 2-5 years. The long-term efficacy was evaluated, including the symptoms of dysmenorrhea, average menstrual fluid volume, sex hormone, and change in uterine size. Results:After 2 years of treatment, the response rate in the observation group was 93.5% (29/31), which was significantly higher than 72.4% (21/29) in the control group ( χ2 = 4.81, P = 0.028). After 5 years of treatment, the response rate in the observation group was 93.5% (29/31), which was significantly higher than 65.5% (19/29) in the control group ( χ2 = 7.35, P = 0.007). After treatment, the improvements in uterine size, menstrual fluid volume, and visual analogue scale score were greater in the observation group than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). After treatment, all patients were followed up for 5 years. There was no significant difference in the incidence of long-term adverse reactions between the observation and control groups [3.2% (1/31) vs. 6.9% (2/29), P > 0.05]. The recurrence rate in the observation group was 3.45% (1/29), which was significantly lower than 23.81% (5/21) in the control group ( χ2 = 4.78, P = 0.029). After 2 and 5 years of treatment, ovarian function was not affected in both groups of patients. Conclusion:Uterine artery embolization with polyvinyl alcohol granules for the treatment of adenomyosis has identified long-term curative effects, is safe, and has a low recurrence rate.