Reproductive outcomes following hysteroscopic resection of endometrial polyps of different location, number and size in patients with infertility

Imaging of Infertility, Part 1: Hysterosalpingograms to Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Infertility, or subfertility, is the inability to achieve a clinical pregnancy after a 1-year period of regular unprotected sexual intercourse in women younger than 35 and after 6 months in women older than 35. Although initial assessment involves a multitude of factors, including a detailed medical history, physical examination, semen analysis, and hormonal evaluation, diagnostic imaging of the female partner often plays an important role in establishing the etiology for infertility. This article provides an overview of the multimodality imaging assessment of female infertility and details the developmental and acquired pelvic abnormalities in which diagnostic imaging aids in evaluation.

The effect of localization and histological verification of endometrial polyps on infertility

Aim

Our purpose is to investigate if transcervical resection of endometrial polyps improves the fertility in ovulatory infertile women, and whether polyp histology, intrauterine location, and the technique of polypectomy have any influence on the pregnancy rates.

Methods

In this retrospective study, clinical data of 87 ovulatory infertile women who underwent hysteroscopy and polypectomy, and their 12-month follow-up have been analyzed. Subgroups according to the method of polyp removal (resectoscope or curettage), the polyp localization (utero-tubal, anterior, posterior, lateral, multiple) and the histological result were interpreted.

Results

Mean age of patients was 33.99 ± 4.24 years. There were no differences in the BMI and basal FSH levels between the subgroups. Pregnancy was recorded in 30 (34.5%) within the next 12 months without any difference between the subgroups of polypectomy method applied. Posterior wall polyp resection increased the pregnancy chance (OR 5.02), but no other differences were observed in 1-year pregnancy rates to other localizations. Removal of polyps which had normal endometrial histology had lower pregnancy rates as compared to that of polyps with hyperplasia or endometrial polyp histology results (OR 0.25).

Conclusions

Polypectomy improved the conception rate in the subsequent year regardless of the intrauterine localization and the method of its surgical removal. Therefore, we can conclude that polypectomy should be considered in infertile women.

Hysteroscopic Resection of Endometrial Polyps and Assisted Reproductive Technology Pregnancy Outcomes Compared with No Treatment: A Systematic Review

Endometrial polyps are frequently encountered in the uterine cavity of infertile women. There is much debate regarding the treatment of endometrial polyps in patients who are undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART). A systematic review was performed by searching PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for retrospective or prospective studies that compared the effect of hysteroscopic resection of polyps with no treatment on pregnancy outcomes of patients who underwent ART. The primary outcomes were clinical pregnancy, live birth, miscarriage, and implantation rates after ART. Eight studies with a total of 2267 patients were included. The results showed that hysteroscopic resection of endometrial polyps (mean size <2 cm) was associated with an increased rate of clinical pregnancy in patients who underwent intrauterine insemination. No clear benefit was observed for clinical pregnancy, live birth, miscarriage, or implantation rates in patients who underwent in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. In conclusion, the effect of hysteroscopic polypectomy on pregnancy outcomes of patients who have undergone ART remains unclear. More prospective, randomized controlled trials are warranted to determine appropriate treatment.

Hysteroscopic polypectomy prior to infertility treatment: A cost analysis and systematic review

The cost of fertility treatment is expensive and interventions that reduce cost can lead to greater efficiency and fewer embryos transferred. Endometrial polyps contribute to infertility and are frequently removed prior to infertility treatment. It is unclear whether polypectomy reduces fertility treatment cost and if so, the magnitude of cost reduction afforded by the procedure. The aim of this study was to determine whether performing office or operative hysteroscopic polypectomy prior to infertility treatment would be cost-effective. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane libraries were used to identify publications reporting pregnancy rates after hysteroscopic polypectomy. Studies were required to have a polypectomy treatment group and control group of patients with polyps that were not resected. The charges of infertility treatments and polypectomy were obtained through infertility organizations and a private healthcare cost reporting website. These charges were applied to a decision tree model over the range of pregnancy rates observed in the representative studies to calculate an average cost per clinical or ongoing pregnancy. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess cost savings of polypectomy over a range of pregnancy rates and polypectomy costs. Pre-treatment office or operative hysteroscopic polypectomy ultimately saved €6658 ($7480) and €728 ($818), respectively, of the average cost per clinical pregnancy in women treated with four cycles of intrauterine insemination. Polypectomy prior to intrauterine insemination was cost-effective for clinical pregnancy rates greater than 30.2% for office polypectomy and 52.6% for operative polypectomy and for polypectomy price <€4414 ($4959). Office polypectomy or operative polypectomy saved €15,854 ($17,813) and €6644 ($7465), respectively, from the average cost per ongoing pregnancy for in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treated women and was cost-effective for ongoing pregnancy rates greater than 26.4% (office polypectomy) and 31.7% (operative polypectomy) and polypectomy price <€6376 ($7164). These findings suggested that office or operative hysteroscopic polypectomy was cost-effective when performed prior to both intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization over a range of plausible pregnancy rates and procedural costs.