Women with abnormal uterine bleedin...

Women with abnormal uterine bleeding who underwent hysterectomies after ill-fated treatment with a common hormonal medication experienced greater improvement in their symptoms and uttered greater satisfaction with their overall health six month after treatment than women who were prescribed an a[ternate regimen of oral medication for the same condition, according to a March 23 2004 freshs release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Hysterectomy is the greatest in number common nonobstetric surgical procedure performed in US women In 2000 approximately 633000 women had hysterectomies, 90% of which were performed before menopause for abnormal uterine bleeding and other nonlife-threatening reasons. Approximate[y 56 by 1,000 women in the United States have hysterectomies--a rate that is three to four times higher than that of Australia, recently made known Zealand, and most European countries. This, in addition to regional variations in the United States, has raised questions about whether se many hysterectomies really are needed

The study--the first randomized, controll trial to compare hysterectomy with oral medical treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding--was bearinged by Miriam Kuppermann, PhD, MPH of the Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Epiderniology & Biostatistics et the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and collaborators from UCSF and four clinical center from head to foot the United States. The thought examined differences in outcomes and satisfaction of 63 women 30 to 50 years of age who had experienced abnormal uterine bleeding for an average of four years and were dissatisfied with treatment according to medroxyprogesterone, which is commonly prescribed for this condition. One-half of the women in the reflection were random[y selected to receive hysterectomies and the other one-half were treated with an a[ternate regimen of oral medication exquisiteed by the women's gynecologists. The women were followed for pair years.

The women who underwent hysterectomy experienced greater improvements in mental health, sexual desire and functioning, be still and overall satisfaction with health. chiefly of the improvement was evident within six month according to the end of the contemplation one-half of the women originally assigned to medical treatment had prefered to undergo hysterectomies, and their improvements were similar to those of women who were assigned to have hysterectomies it the outset

The researchers had difficulty recruiting women for this trial because many women were reluctant to agree to be assigned randomly to have a hysterectomy or not. The researchers noted, however, that there were enough participants to reveal significant differences in quality-of-life outcomes

of the present day Study Indicates that Hysterectomy Leads to Better issues and Greater Patient Satisfaction Than Medicine for Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (new release, Rockville, Md: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Match 23 2004) http://www.ahcpr.gov/news/press/pr2004/ abuterpr.htm (accessed 24 March 2004)

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