Surgery Pivotal in Improving Quality of Life in Endometriosis Patients

Surgery plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of life of women with endometriosis.

Key Points

Highlights: 

• Endometriosis surgery plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of life of patients with endometriosis.

Importance:

• This finding is important in surgical decision-making among doctors and patients alike.

What’s done here:

• Researchers conducted a prospective observational study in 140 women who underwent segmental colorectal resection for deep infiltrating endometriosis.
• The patients were filled out the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for gastrointestinal surgery patients and Euro-QoL Group EQ-5D-5L questionnaires after surgery, at the time of hospital discharge , and 4-6 w after surgery.

Key results:

• Both of the above questionnaires scores of women improved significantly 4-6 w following surgery.
• The was no statistically significant difference in quality of life between patients who had complications following surgery and those who did not.
• The was no statistically significant association between complications and nutritional status.

Limitations:

• This was a single-center study in a relatively small group of patients undergoing surgery for a specific type of endometriosis and the findings might not apply to all patients. 

Lay Summary

Surgery plays a pivotal role in improving the quality of life of women with endometriosis who have previously not responded to medical therapy. This is according to a new study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology.

During the prospective observational study, a team of researchers from Italy led by Dr. Giacomo Ruffo analyzed patient-reported outcomes in 140 patients who had segmental colorectal resection for the treatment of deep infiltrating endometriosis.

The patients were asked to respond to the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for gastrointestinal surgery patients, and Euro-QoL Group EQ-5D-5L questionnaires just after surgery, at the time of discharge from the hospital, and 4-6w after surgery. The researchers also assessed the nutritional status of the patients using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form and Prognostic Nutritional Index.

The results showed that the women’s questionnaire scores significantly improved four to six weeks after surgery compared to just after the surgery. 

There were no statistically significant differences in terms of quality of life at 4-6 w between patients who had complications following surgery and those who did not. There was also no statistically significant link between complications following surgery and nutrition status and complications following surgery.

This study confirms the pivotal role of surgery in improving the quality of life of women with endometriosis, the researchers concluded.  

Research Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38114018/