Women with Newly Diagnosed Uterine Fibroids: Treatment Patterns and Cost Comparison for Select Treatment Options

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to describe surgical treatment patterns among women with newly diagnosed uterine fibroids (UF). A secondary objective was to estimate the medical costs associated with other common surgical interventions for UF. Claims-based commercial and Medicare data (2011-2016) were used to identify women aged ≥30 years with continuous enrollment for at least 12 months before and after a new diagnosis of UF. Receipt of a surgical or radiologic procedure (hysterectomy, myomectomy, endometrial ablation, uterine artery embolization, and curettage) was the primary outcome. Health care resource utilization and costs were calculated for women with at least 12 months of continuous enrollment following a UF surgical procedure. Among women who met selection criteria, 31.7% of patients underwent a surgical procedure; 20.9% of these underwent hysterectomy. An increase was observed over time in the percentage of women undergoing outpatient hysterectomy (from 27.0% to 40.2%) and hysteroscopic myomectomy (from 8.0% to 11.5%). The cost analysis revealed that total health care costs for hysteroscopic myomectomy ($17,324) were significantly lower (P < 0.001) than those for women who underwent inpatient hysterectomy ($24,027) and those for women undergoing the 3 comparison procedures. Hysterectomy was the most common surgical intervention. Patients undergoing inpatient hysterectomy had the highest health care costs. Although less expensive, minimally invasive approaches are becoming more common; they are performed infrequently in patients with newly diagnosed UF. The results of this study may be useful in guiding decisions regarding the most appropriate and cost-effective surgical treatment for UF.

Keywords: cost comparison; surgical intervention; treatment patterns; uterine fibroids.