Laparoscopic ablation or excision with helium thermal coagulator versus electrodiathermy for the treatment of mild‐to‐moderate endometriosis: randomised controlled trial

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Used in Randomized Controlled Trials Following Surgical Intervention for Endometriosis: A Structured Review from the AAGL Practice Guidelines Group

OBJECTIVE

No consensus currently exists regarding patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) instruments. This structured review was conducted to identify the PROMs used by randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated surgical treatment in patients with endometriosis.

DATA SOURCES

Two parallel searches were conducted by a medical librarian using Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, and Cochrane Library for RCTs published from 2000 to July 2022. One search focused on studies reporting quality of life (QoL), and the second search focused on studies reporting pain and sexual, bowel, and bladder function.

METHOD OF STUDY SELECTION

During the title and abstract screening and reference check, 600 results were identified on PROMs relating to QoL and 465 studies on PROMs relating to pain and sexual, bowel, and/or bladder function and an evaluation of 17 and 12 studies conducted, respectively. The inclusion criteria involved selecting RCTs that focused on surgical intervention and assessing QoL, pain, and sexual, bowel, and/or bladder function using PROMs.

TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS

Covidence software was used to organize and identify duplicate articles through screening. We developed a data extraction form to collect key information about each included study, as well as the pertinent PROMs used in the study. Assessment of the risk of bias of each study was also performed. A total of 19 studies were identified involving 2089 participants and a total of 16 PROMs used across the studies; 9 of 19 studies (47%) were rated as having a low risk of bias. There were no high-risk studies identified in this review.

CONCLUSION

This study identified a large number of RCTs in surgical treatment of endometriosis that used various PROMs to assess QoL, pain, and bladder, bowel, and sexual function. The PROMs used by high-quality RCTs for QoL include Endometriosis Health Profile-30, Endometriosis Health Profile-5, Short-Form 36, Short-Form 12, and EQ-5D; for bowel-related symptoms Knowles-Eccersley-Scott-Symptom Questionnaire, Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index, and Cleveland Clinic Fecal Incontinence Severity Scoring System/Wexner; for bladder-related function Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, International Prostate Symptom Score, Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire, and Urinary Symptom Profile; and finally for sexual function Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire and Sexual Activity Questionnaire. Unlike other domains, only one tool (visual analog scale) was the dominant PROM used for the assessment of pain. In addition, the use of more than one PROM in each study to assess different aspects of patient's health and pain symptoms did not become prevalent until after 2015.

Plasma Device Functions and Tissue Effects in the Female Pelvis-A Systematic Review

Medical use of (non-)thermal plasmas is an emerging field in gynaecology. However, data on plasma energy dispersion remain limited. This systematic review presents an overview of plasma devices, fields of effective application, and impact of use factors and device settings on tissues in the female pelvis, including the uterus, ovaries, cervix, vagina, vulva, colon, omentum, mesenterium, and peritoneum. A search of the literature was performed on 4 January 2023 in the Medline Ovid, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. Devices were classified as plasma-assisted electrosurgery (ES) using electrothermal energy, neutral argon plasma (NAP) using kinetic particle energy, or cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) using non-thermal biochemical reactions. In total, 8958 articles were identified, of which 310 were scanned, and 14 were included due to containing quantitative data on depths or volumes of tissues reached. Plasma-assisted ES devices produce a thermal effects depth of <2.4 mm. In turn, NAP effects remained superficial, <1.0 mm. So far, the depth and uniformity of CAP effects are insufficiently understood. These data are crucial to achieve complete treatment, reduce recurrence, and limit damage to healthy tissues (e.g., prevent perforations or preserve parenchyma). Upcoming and potentially high-gain applications are discussed, and deficits in current evidence are identified.

Excision versus Ablation for Management of Minimal to Mild Endometriosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to perform an updated analysis of the literature in regard to the surgical management of minimal to mild endometriosis. This study evaluated women of reproductive age with superficial endometriosis to determine if the results of surgical excision compared with those of ablation in improved pain scores postoperatively.

DATA SOURCES

The following databases were searched from inception to May 2020 for relevant studies: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed (MEDLINE), Ovid (MEDLINE), Scopus, and Web of Science.

METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION

From our literature search, a total of 2633 articles were identified and screened. Ultimately, 4 randomized controlled trials were selected and included in our systematic review. The combined total number of subjects was 346 from these 4 studies, with sample sizes ranging from 24 to 170 participants. Data from 3 of the included studies were able to be compared and analyzed for a meta-analysis. The primary outcome was reduction in the visual analog scale (VAS) score for endometriosis-associated pain (dysmenorrhea, dyschezia, and dyspareunia), with follow-up time ranging from 6 to 60 months postoperatively.

TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS

Data extracted from each study included the mean reduction in the VAS score from baseline. A random-effects model was used owing to significant heterogeneity across the studies. Statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.3 software (Cochrane Collaboration, London, United Kingdom). The meta-analyses showed no significant differences between the excision and ablation groups in the mean reduction in VAS scores from baseline to 12 months postoperatively for dysmenorrhea (mean difference [MD] -0.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.27 to 1.22; p = .97), dyschezia (MD 0.46; 95% CI, -1.09 to 2.02; p = .56), and dyspareunia (MD 0.10; 95% CI, -2.36 to 2.56; p = .94). In addition, there were no significant differences between the excision and ablation groups in mean VAS scores at the 12-month follow-up and beyond for dysmenorrhea (MD -0.11; 95% CI, -2.14 to 1.93; p = .92), dyschezia (MD 0.01; 95% CI, -0.70 to 0.72; p = .99), and dyspareunia (MD 0.34; 95% CI, -1.61 to 2.30; p = .73).

CONCLUSION

On the basis of the data from our systematic review and pooled meta-analysis, no significant difference between laparoscopic excision and ablation was noted in regard to improving pain from minimal to mild endometriosis. However, to make definitive conclusions on this topic, larger randomized controlled trials are needed with longer follow-up.