Efficacy of Applying Hyaluronic Acid Gels in the Primary Prevention of Intrauterine Adhesion after Hysteroscopic Myomectomy: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Min Cheng; Wen-Hsun Chang; Szu-Ting Yang; Hsin-Yi Huang; Kuan-Hao Tsui; Chia-Pei Chang; Wen-Ling Lee; Peng-Hui Wang

doi:10.3390/life10110285

Efficacy of Applying Hyaluronic Acid Gels in the Primary Prevention of Intrauterine Adhesion after Hysteroscopic Myomectomy: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Life (Basel). 2020 Nov 15;10(11):285. doi: 10.3390/life10110285.

Authors

Min Cheng^{1

2

3}, Wen-Hsun Chang^{1

2

4}, Szu-Ting Yang^{1

2

3}, Hsin-Yi Huang⁵, Kuan-Hao Tsui^{2

3

6

7}, Chia-Pei Chang^{1

2

3}, Wen-Ling Lee^{2

8

9}, Peng-Hui Wang^{1

2

3

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
² Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
⁵ Biostatics Task Force, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Pharmacy and Master Program, College of Pharmacy and Health Care, Tajen University, Pingtung County 907, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Cheng-Hsin General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
⁹ Department of Nursing, Oriental Institute of Technology, New Taipei City 220, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Cancer Female Foundation, Taipei 104, Taiwan.
¹¹ Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan.

Abstract

Intrauterine adhesion (IUA), which mainly occurs after intrauterine surgery or an inflammatory process, is an important but often neglected condition in women of reproductive age. The presentation of IUA varies greatly, ranging from symptom-free to severe, with amenorrhea or infertility. With much advanced development of intrauterine instruments, more intrauterine diseases can be successfully cured by hysteroscopic surgery. Among these, submucosal myoma is one of the best examples. Submucosal myomas are often related to abnormal bleeding, anemia, and possible infertility or miscarriage. However, submucosal myoma after hysteroscopic myomectomy may be complicated by IUA in various grades of severity, and its incidence and prevalence might be nearly one-quarter to one-third of patients, suggesting an urgent need for efforts to decrease the risk of developing IUA after hysteroscopic myomectomy. Many strategies have been reported to be useful for this purpose, and intrauterine application of anti-adhesive gels, such as polyethylene oxide-sodium carboxymethylcellulose (PEO-NaCMC) or auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (ACHA), has become increasingly popular in routine clinical practice. This meta-analysis is aimed at investigating the effect of ACHA on the primary prevention of IUA formation after hysteroscopic myomectomy. A pooled analysis of three studies (hysteroscopic surgeries for fibroids, polyps, and septum) including 242 women showed that using PEO-NaCMC or ACHA gel decreased the IUA rate with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.364 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.189-0.703, p = 0.03). Pooled analysis of two studies that limited the use of ACHA in 119 women showed that the application of ACHA gel for the primary prevention of IUA in patients after hysteroscopic myomectomy led to a statistically significant reduction of the development of IUA postoperatively (OR 0.285, 95% CI 0.116-0.701, p = 0.006). All of this suggests that the use of ACHA gel in patients after hysteroscopic myomectomy could significantly reduce de novo IUA, although more evidence is needed.

Keywords: anti-adhesive gel; hyaluronic acid; hysteroscopic myomectomy; intrauterine adhesion; prevention; reduction.