The Effect of Adjuvant Treatment to Prevent and Treat Intrauterine Adhesions: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) can lead to partial or complete closure of the uterine cavity, which may result in symptoms including abnormal menstruation, infertility, and pelvic pain. A network meta-analysis was performed to assess the effect of adjuvant therapy on the prevention and treatment of IUAs. We searched electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, up to May 5, 2017, without language restrictions. The primary outcomes in the present analysis were the rate of IUAs for prevention and the rate of IUA recurrence for treatment. The secondary outcomes included the IUA score and the rate of severity of IUAs. The treatments were then ranked by the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). We included 20 articles that involved a total of 1891 patients in our analysis. In the outcomes of prevention-related studies, an alginate hyaluronate-carboxymethylcellulose membrane (ACH) (n = 10, SUCRA score = 93.3%) was the adjuvant treatment that most effectively reduced IUA incidence. It was followed by intercoat (n = 10, SUCRA score = 74.7%) and misoprostol (n = 10, SUCRA score = 68.6%). In addition, auto-cross-linked hyaluronic acid (ACP) (n = 3, SUCRA score = 83.2%) and intercoat (n = 3, SUCRA score = 66.4%) each corresponded to a relatively high preventive effect against severe IUAs. In the treatment-related studies, ACP plus a balloon (n = 4, SUCRA score = 96.3%) and a freeze-dried amnion graft plus a balloon (n = 4, SUCRA score = 62.7%) most effectively reduced IUA recurrence and had a high probability of most effectively reducing IUA scores. Therefore, according to the prophylactic analysis, ACH and intercoat were most likely to prevent IUA development. In our analysis of agents used to prevent severe IUAs, we found that ACP and intercoat provided significant advantages and had high reliability. In our analysis of treatments, ACP plus a balloon and freeze-dried amniotic agents plus a balloon were most likely to reduce IUA recurrence and IUA scores after adhesiolysis.

Keywords: Adjuvant therapy; Asherman syndrome; Intrauterine adhesions; Meta-analysis.