Linda D. Bradley, MD Vice Chairman of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health Institute Director, Center for Menstrual Disorders, Fibroids and Hysteroscopic Services Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, Ohio Teresa Dews, MD, FIPP Medical Director, Pain Management Center Hillcrest Hospital Mayfield Heights, Ohio supplement to Free 1.0 CME credit Gary P. Siskin, MD Professor and Chairman Department of Radiology Albany Medical College Albany, New York Learning Objectives • List the 3 most common symptoms associated with the postembolization syndrome • Formulate the 4 most important home-going medications and instructions that should be relayed to the patient • List the most common symptoms associated with fibroids • Determine the success rate for relief of menorrhagia, bulk symptoms, and size reduction after uterine fibroid embolization Target Audience This course is designed to meet the continuing medical education needs of the practicing obstetrician and gynecologist, primary care physician, clinical nurse practitioner, and physician assistant. Accreditation Omnia Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Credit Designation Omnia Education, Inc., designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Release Date: September 1, 2008 Expiration Date: August 31, 2009 Acknowledgement of Commercial Support This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from BioSphere Medical, Inc. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest To provide the highest quality of CME programming in compliance with the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support, Omnia Education requires that all faculty and planning committee members disclose relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest that produces health care goods or services. Omnia Education assesses conflict of interest with its faculty, planners, authors, and reviewers of CME activities. Identified conflicts of interest are thoroughly reviewed and resolved by independent reviewers for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in the activity, and patient care recommendations. Omnia Education is committed to providing its learners with high-quality, unbiased, and state-of-the-art education. The following faculty have reported real or apparent conflicts of interest that have been resolved: Linda D. Bradley, MD, reports that she is a consultant for American Medical Systems, Bayer Heathcare Pharmaceuticals, BioSphere Medical, Inc., Ethicon Inc., and Gyrus ACMI. She has research grants from Conceptus, Inc., and Microsulis. She is on a commercial interest speakers bureau for Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, BioSphere Medical, Inc., Novo Nordisk, and Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories. Teresa Dews, MD, FIPP, reports that she is a consultant for Abbott Laboratories. Gary P. Siskin, MD, reports that he is a consultant for BioSphere Medical, Inc., and has a research grant from Teruma Medical Corporation. Disclaimer Participants have an implied responsibility to use newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patients’ conditions and possible contraindications or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The views and opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Omnia Education, BioSphere Medical, Inc., OBG Management, or Dowden Health Media. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings. This material has been submitted by Omnia Education. It has been edited and peer reviewed by OBG Management. September 2008 Available at www.obgmanagement.com UTERINE FIBROID EMBOLIZATION: A roundtable discussion describing effective protocols for pain management Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) has become an increasingly popular procedure in the past decade. Patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids often seek alternatives to hysterectomy, and UFE represents a viable option for many of these patients. Worldwide, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 women have had the procedure. Approximately 25,000 women in the United States choose to undergo UFE each year.1 It offers excellent outcomes across the spectrum of fibroid-related symptoms, and improvement can be seen in 85% to 92% of patients with heavy menstrual bleeding or menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, and bulk symptoms including pelvic pressure, constipation, dyspareunia, and urinary symptoms (frequency, urgency, and retention).2-7 Other effects, such as decreased abdominal girth resulting from decreased fibroid burden, may be less consistent. UFE is associated with a high level of patient satisfaction and few complications for the correctly selected patient who is interested in alleviating specific symptoms. Recent reports in the medical literature have compared UFE with traditional treatments, such as hysterectomy and myomectomy. In observational studies, this procedure has resulted in a significant reduction in uterine volume, a decrease in excessive uterine bleeding, a low rate of subsequent hysterectomy, and a high rate of sustained symptom control (up to 80%) 5 years postprocedure.8-11 Additionally, the procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis, thus inviting comparison—in terms of efficacy, patient satisfaction, and need for pain control—with other minimally invasive gynecologic procedures. As UFE enters the mainstream of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, clinicians are looking at pain management strategies that have been effective in other settings as well. The UFE procedure has been adopted slowly, in large part because of concerns about pain. Interestingly, as will be addressed in more detail in this roundtable discussion, the procedure itself has been shown to be associated with minimal pain and discomfort. In Pron’s evaluation of 555 women, tabulated pain scores demonstrated that the procedure itself (catheterizing the femoral artery) is not uncomfortable, but that the discomfort resulted from postprocedural dispersal of the embolic particles, a process that created an ischemic event, which could be best characterized as a “heart attack of the pelvis” with decreased blood flow to the fibroids.8,12 Copyright © 2008 Dowden Health Media and Omnia Education, Inc. Supplement to OBG Management | September 2008 S Uterine fibroid embolization UFE in practice: As viable as other gynecologic procedures? Dr Bradley: As an early adopter of UFE, I have been impressed by the reports of outcomes and patient satisfaction in the medical literature. Additionally, my personal experience has now included referring more than 500 patients for the procedure and working closely with interventional radiologists (IRs) to ensure appropriate patient selection and good outcomes.13 However, as a practicing physician, I was initially skeptical about the procedure’s viability and whether an obstetrician/gynecologist (ObGyn) would accept it, in part because of the need to refer patients and partly because of the initial reports concerning pain associated with the procedure. Dr Siskin: Early on, I believed that pain management was a significant challenge for the IRs performing this procedure. It is clear now that some patients may have been under-medicated or discharged too early, which led to many ObGyns receiving emergency calls from these patients. This situation has changed significantly during the past several years. As experience has been gained with this procedure, IRs have improved the medication regimens used to address postprocedure pain. In addition, many radiologists have developed office-based practices, which have provided them with the infrastructure necessary for optimal patient follow-up. Finally, many have developed collaborative practice arrangements with ObGyns in the community. I believe that these changes have greatly reduced the number of patients who require additional pain management and/or hospital readmission. As we continue to collect more data and gain even more experience with this procedure, I believe that we will continue to see the readmission rates decline. Dr Bradley: Yes, both pain control and the need to work collaboratively with individuals in another specialty posed a significant clinical challenge that has been addressed with the development of protocols for effective pain management. Today, UFE is a widely adopted procedure. It is consistently accomplished with a 23-hour hospital stay. Some institutions are piloting protocols that feature discharge 5 to 8 hours postprocedure, accompanied by effective pain management. Patient experiences with pain, satisfaction with the procedure, time required for return to work, cost, and quality of life postprocedure have been well documented and compare favorably with traditional interventions.14,15 S Certainly, advances in pain control for UFE have resulted in a “kinder and gentler” procedure. Much data are contained in the Fibroid Registry publications, as well as other reports.16 What about return to normal activities? At our institution, we tell patients that they will typically return to work in 10 to 14 days. Additionally, we inform them that one-third of patients will have an abnormal vaginal discharge, vasomotor symptoms, and lethargy with flu-like symptoms. Most symptoms resolve within 1 to 4 weeks. We also instruct them to purchase a thermometer and to take their temperature several times daily during the first 7 to 10 days at home. Since vasomotor symptoms are common and may mimic a febrile response, we ask them also to take their temperature when they “feel warm.” Dr Siskin: That conforms to our approach. Someone who is highly motivated to return to work may be able to return to work sooner, especially if their particular job requires little in terms of physical activity. Do patient characteristics or UFE technique correlate with pain? Dr Bradley: Dr Siskin, as an IR, could you describe the procedure, particularly in terms of pain and pain management? Dr Siskin: UFE is a percutaneously performed, angiographic procedure that begins by gaining access into the arterial circulation, usually by catheterizing the common femoral artery. Using fluoroscopy for guidance, a catheter is advanced into the contralateral uterine artery. Once the catheter position has been confirmed, embolic material is injected into the artery until there is relative stasis of flow in that vessel. Ultimately, the goal is to leave some flow in the main uterine artery but to occlude flow in the distal branches. Once embolization of the contralateral vessel is completed, the catheter is repositioned into the ipsilateral uterine artery and the procedure is repeated. Typically, a final angiogram is performed after both vessels are embolized to determine if there are any prominent collateral vessels to the uterus that must be addressed as well. The goal of the UFE procedure is to successfully infarct the entire uterine fibroid burden by occluding flow in the uterine arteries. Infarction is important because recent findings have indicated that patients who have uninfarcted or viable fibroid tissue after UFE are at risk for fibroid recurrence.17 September 2008 | Supplement to OBG Management UFE and quality of life R andomized trials that assess quality-of-life outcomes associated with UFE vs surgery have provided outcomes of great interest to clinicians. A 2007 publication described a randomized trial comparing UFE and surgery in women with symptomatic uterine fibroids.1 The primary outcome was quality of life at 1 year of follow-up, as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item ShortForm General Health Survey (SF-36). Patients were randomly assigned: 106 patients to UFE and 51 to surgery (43 hysterectomies and 8 myomectomies). At 1 year, no significant differences between groups were observed in any of the SF-36 score components. The embolization group had a shorter median duration of hospitalization than the surgical group (1 day vs 5 days, P<.001) and a shorter time before returning to work (P<.001). At 1 year, symptom scores were better in the surgical group (P=.03). During the first year, there were 13 major adverse events in the embolization group (12%) and 10 in Conversely, when fibroids are completely infarcted, there is evidence to suggest that they will always remain infarcted. Recent studies have focused on the type of embolic agent and other technical steps that can be taken in order to optimize the infarction rate after UFE. Currently, our patients are told that 90% of patients will achieve 100% infarction of their entire fibroid burden. As has been noted, little or no pain occurs during the procedure, as the uterus and fibroids maintain sufficient blood flow to avoid symptoms. Therefore, it is unlikely that technical advances in the procedure will modify pain that occurs subsequent to embolization.18 Dr Bradley: Does uterine size affect potential pain? If a uterus is 14 to 16 weeks in size versus 25 to 30 weeks in size, is there a difference in the amount of materials being used to embolize the uterine arteries? Does that affect pain? Is the number of fibroids a factor? Is the size of the dominant fibroid of importance? Dr Siskin: No one has shown convincingly that uterine size plays a role in determining the amount of pain a patient will experience after UFE. Nor does fibroid size: we’ve treated patients with small, 1- to 2-cm submucosal fibroids who have more pain than patients with much larger fibroids and found no consistency in terms of levels of postprocedure pain. Anecdotally, the vascularity of fibroids differs markedly, and that affects the amount of material that Available at www.obgmanagement.com the surgical group (20%) (P=.22), mostly related to the intervention. A total of 10 patients in the embolization group (9%) required repeated embolization or hysterectomy for inadequate symptom control. After the first year of follow-up, 14 women in the embolization group (13%) required hospitalization, 3 of them for major adverse events and 11 for reintervention for treatment failure. The investigators noted that women who have UFE experience faster recovery, although a small minority of patients may need further treatment. UFE is also associated with lower costs compared with surgery (mean difference, £951 [$1,712 at an exchange rate of £1=$1.80]; 95% confidence interval, £329 to £1480 [$592 to $2,664]), suggesting that at 1 year, UFE was more cost-effective than surgery for patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids. Reference 1.The REST Investigators. Uterine-artery embolization versus surgery for symptomatic uterine fibroids. N Engl J Med. 2007;356:360-370. must be used to embolize the arteries. In general, I do find that patients with extremely vascular fibroids requiring a lot of material for embolization tend to be more uncomfortable after the procedure, but there are a lot of exceptions to that rule. Proactive management for postprocedure pain Dr Siskin: As described by Dr Pron, the procedure itself is not painful but the effects of the procedure are painful. In general, the pain associated with UFE tends to manifest itself within a half hour after the procedure. At that time, tissue necrosis begins to occur and ischemic symptoms may be quite severe. This is characterized clinically by a postembolization syndrome that manifests itself by pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, leukocytosis, and malaise. Symptoms vary in distribution and intensity from patient to patient.18,19 Dr Bradley: Dr Dews, with this in mind, how should a physician approach pain management? Dr Dews: Certainly, the patient’s previous history with pain will be an important factor. Predominantly, if the patient has had exposure to pain medications in the past, she has a perspective on medications that work and are well tolerated versus those that are not tolerated. Supplement to OBG Management | September 2008 S Uterine fibroid embolization The patient’s preprocedure history is important in evaluating the patient’s exposure to pain medications as well as pain tolerance. It is important to ascertain if the patient is taking chronic pain medications. It is also helpful to know the patient’s previous history of pain related to surgical procedures and interventions. Although not specifically studied for the UFE procedure, patients taking significant doses of pain medications or who have a history of severe postprocedure or surgical pain in the past should heighten one’s awareness of potential increased postoperative pain. Opioid medications are the mainstay in management of moderate to severe pain in the surgical and postsurgical setting. This is true of minimally invasive gynecologic procedures, including endometrial ablation. Although the opioids do have a beneficial profile for pain relief, they do pose risks of side effects, including sedation, gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, vomiting, and constipation), and urinary retention. More severe complications relate to respiratory depression or hypotension. Opioids can be used in combination with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), thus providing a synergistic effect and improving the side effect profile. Dr Siskin: In our experience—and much of the literature describe protocols used after UFE—practitioners have had the most success in combining opioids and NSAIDs agents for postprocedural pain management. Dr Bradley: Dr Siskin, how has your pain management protocol evolved in the last decade? Dr Siskin: When we started performing UFE, many of our initial procedures were done on an outpatient basis, largely because of patient demand and the success of our pain management strategy. We began with a dose of demerol 75 mg IV and supplemented that with 2 doses of 30 mg of ketorolac given IV, with a dose given after each artery was embolized. Both demerol and ketorolac could be repeated during the immediate postprocedure recovery period. Using that regimen, patients were sufficiently comfortable to be discharged at the end of the day. We reported our experience with outpatient UFE and found that 96% of patients could be discharged within 8 hours of the procedure, with none of these patients requiring hospital or ER care within the first 48 hours.20,21 Klein et al also studied outpatient UFE and found that 83% of their patients could be discharged within 10 hours of UFE.22 At our institution, however, demerol was S taken off the formulary, which required us to modify our protocol and use morphine for pain control along with ketorolac. Protocol for pain management Dr Bradley: What is your experience with the need for pain medication after the procedure and during the recovery? If you look at one of the welldocumented trials, the Pron study that was mentioned earlier, the mean duration of pain medication in this evaluation of 555 women was 6.8 days.8,12 That is why I tell my patients that they will likely need to remain on pain medication for 6 days. What’s been your clinical experience? Dr Siskin: I agree with that entirely. Currently, we use routine conscious sedation with midazolam and fentanyl citrate during the procedure, which are medications used for many outpatient procedures. As mentioned, we also provide a dose of ketorolac, 30 mg IV, after we embolize the first artery and another 30 mg IV after we embolize the second artery. Our goal is to activate the anti-inflammatory effects of this medication in place at the conclusion of the procedure, when the patient will start to experience pain. Midazolam has the additional property of being an amnestic, so patients do not recall details of the procedure. It is often helpful for patients to be lightly sedated during the procedure so that they can hold their breath at various times, which can help with visualization of the arteries. They can also help describe their need for pain control so that additional medications can be given as needed. Following the procedure, we use a constant infusion of morphine together with an additional dose given on demand to further control postprocedure pain. Although this provides sufficient management, it often leaves patients too fatigued to be discharged, which is why many of our patients are observed overnight. By the next day, we discontinue morphine, put patients on oxycodone and acetaminophen, 1 to 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hours, in combination with oral ketorolac, 10 mg every 6 hours, for 3 days. After that time, patients are instructed to switch to ibuprofen and to continue the percocet as needed. We find that most patients require only ibuprofen after the first 5 days. It has been our experience that this protocol maintains patient comfort and addresses the pain that would otherwise be experienced over the first few days after embolization. September 2008 | Supplement to OBG Management Pain control postprocedure: A report from the literature Dr Siskin: A small study of 71 patients assessed the time course of pain after UFE.23 Sedation and pain control during the procedure were achieved with IV administration of midazolam, fentanyl citrate, and ketorolac tromethamine. At the procedure completion, morphine sulfate, 5 mg, was administered IV. Postprocedure, all patients received ibuprofen, 800 mg orally, followed by 600 mg orally every 4 hours. Additionally, morphine sulfate was provided through a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. The PCA pump provided a dose of 1 mg, 6-minute lockout, 10 mg/hour maximum dose (no continuous dose) and was discontinued the morning after UFE. Patients’ PCA units were examined postdischarge to reflect the hourly use of morphine sulfate. An average PCA dose for each hour after UFE was determined (95% confidence interval). Based on the hourly PCA dose after UFE, it was observed that cramping increased for approximately 2 hours, plateaued for 3 to 4 hours, and then decreased to a lower plateau over 4 to 5 hours, remaining relatively constant beyond that point. Self-reported pain scores paralleled PCA use. The author noted that the initial period of relatively high pain probably resulted from global uterine ischemia caused by the sudden occlusion of the main uterine arteries. Residual pain probably represented ischemia of the fibroids themselves. Dr Bradley: In our protocol for pain management, we insist that patients comply with the scheduled medication and dosages. We insist that—in addition to a narcotic and an antiemetic—patients take NSAIDs around the clock for the first 2 to 3 days at home. Anecdotally, the most common complaint or telephone call for our institution is constipation. We make sure patients are informed about the use of laxatives; the importance of increasing fiber and adding prunes, prune juice, and raisins to their diet; and, most importantly, using milk of magnesia or Miralax. Patients sometimes go home still taking stool softeners, but these are generally insufficient. Constipation is sometimes the biggest complaint that we receive. Since initiating this protocol, we have had no readmissions for these problems. Dr Siskin: I agree with that approach. We give each of our patients a schedule so they know exactly when to take the prescribed medications. We try to alternate the opioid analgesic with the NSAID so that they are taking something approximately every 2 to 3 Available at www.obgmanagement.com hours, starting as early as 7 am and continuing until midnight. This way, they receive medication around the clock. I agree that the antiemetic is an extremely important component of the medication regimen. We, too, get calls about constipation. At that point, we try to encourage our patients to ease off of the opioid analgesic, if possible, since that is what is most likely causing this problem. New options for pain management Dr Bradley: Given that we have characterized the nature and source of pain associated with UFE, and presented established protocols for management, are there recent investigations or new techniques that may be of importance to ObGyns and IRs? Dr Siskin: One interesting approach that has been recently described is the use of a superior hypogastric nerve block to control pain and reduce medication requirements.24 My only hesitation in using this procedure is that adding another procedure to a straightforward UFE procedure has the potential to increase risk of the overall experience to the patient. Still, any additional risk would be quite minimal. In that report, the superior hypogastric nerve block is performed during the embolization procedure with fluoroscopy used for guidance. With the catheter in place within the common iliac arteries, the aortic bifurcation is very clearly seen. At that point, a needle can be placed anterior to the spine and just below the bifurcation where medication can be administered for the nerve block. Dr Dews: Certainly the visualization associated with this procedure presents a good argument for its selection. Because you can see the structures, use an appropriate volume, and administer contrast, inadvertent vascular absorption is unlikely—although still possible. Therefore, this pain management procedure presents minimal risk of absorption of agents and subsequent systemic complications, which could include seizure or cardiac arrest. Dr Siskin: I agree. This technique is very interesting and is gaining attention among IRs, in large part because of the move toward performing the procedure in an outpatient setting. It offers an appealing option for some patients and practitioners for pain control. Dr Bradley: Do you have any experience with epidurals? Dr Siskin: I do not, although some IRs have used this technique with success as well, and they have Supplement to OBG Management | September 2008 S Uterine fibroid embolization found that the medication requirements are reduced. Dr Dews: Epidural anesthesia has been considered a safe alternative to general anesthesia for many laparoscopic procedures, in general and specifically for patients with respiratory issues. The respiratory control mechanism remains intact and alveolar ventilation is not compromised, even in the Trendelenburg position. Time to discharge is significantly reduced with this modality, as compared with general anesthesia in typical gynecologic procedures.25 Dr Bradley: In addition to patients with respiratory problems, is there another subset of patients for whom an epidural or superior hypogastric nerve block might warrant consideration? Dr Dews: These modalities could certainly be useful for a patient with a history of chronic pain who is already tolerant of opioid medications. It may be difficult to accurately identify these patients without taking a careful history. As an example, a patient for whom pain control may be a significant challenge may be an individual who is being treated with oxycodone in combination with acetaminophen for chronic back pain. For this individual, tolerance to opioid analgesics may be present; therefore, adding medication will likely be less effective, unless higher doses are used. A superior hypogastric nerve block or an epidural may be an appropriate intervention. Dr Bradley: What are the potential complications from each of these procedures? Dr Dews: When epidurals are used, there is potential for spinal hematoma, nerve injury, or spinal cord injury. Although these are severe, it should be noted that the placement of epidurals is a very common procedure in anesthesiology and has a high safety record. Complications rarely occur.26 The superior hypogastric nerve block is slightly more invasive and, depending on the approach and technique, may be associated with a slight additional risk of nerve injury or intravascular injection. The anterior technique described by Rasuli also carries a risk of infection. Posterior paravertebral and transdiscal SHNB approaches require an experienced anesthesiologist, pain management specialist, or radiologist experienced in these procedures. Dr Bradley: Thank you for the excellent discussion. To summarize, when we look at the early “naysayers” who condemned UFE as a procedure because of the potential for readmissions following the procedure, we need to keep in mind that the pain didn’t stem from the procedure per se. A number of S prospective trials evaluated readmissions, commonly categorized as being caused by: (1) pain, (2) nausea, and (3) acute urinary retention. A key take-home message is that discharge should occur only if patients can manage their pain, if they do not have nausea, and when we are sure that urinary retention is not a problem. Dr Dews: Yes, I believe we have good protocols for postprocedure pain management, but we might want to look at “breakthrough” pain that might occur subsequently. In this light, it might be useful to consider the role of acetaminophen, particularly for patients who are not taking an opioid/acetaminophen combination. This agent is very appropriate for breakthrough pain and offers a low side effect profile. It is very important for patients to have specific instructions on the pain medication recommendations, including medications that are prescribed around-the-clock, versus how to use breakthrough medications. Potential advances in future pain control Dr Siskin: It’s important to note that, although we have developed effective pain management protocols for the post-UFE patient, there is a continuing need for further investigation to identify the ideal medications to use and the optimal dosing and administration intervals. Since there is a growing trend to perform this procedure outside the hospital setting, the need for effective pain management will be magnified. You will not have the option for obtaining a pain management consult in this setting. Dr Dews: I agree with you. In anesthesiology, we are always looking for opportunities for preemptive algesias. And some of the protocols you discussed in terms of patients receiving medication prior to the initiation of the pain or the nociception—as you described with ketorolac administration—are important. Research in this area is ongoing. Some antiseizure medications, such as gabapentin and pregabalin, have demonstrated potential utility in decreasing overall postoperative pain and in reducing opioid administration. It would be an interesting opportunity to evaluate the use of these agents in UFE. Dr Bradley: In procedures such as endometrial ablation that have transitioned from the OR to the office, physicians have reported prescribing oral September 2008 | Supplement to OBG Management NSAIDs 24 hours prior to the procedure, adding an IM injection of ketorolac in the office, and then following up with NSAIDs and narcotics within the first 24 to 48 hours postprocedure. Are NSAIDs used in advance of UFE? Is there a concern about hematomas developing in the femoral artery when inserting microcatheters? Dr Siskin: I haven’t heard reports of medicating patients so far in advance before a UFE procedure. It would be interesting to learn if that might improve patient outcomes. I believe that potential bleeding risks associated with doing so would be minimal in this patient population. Dr Bradley: Dr Pron’s meticulous work demonstrates that among 555 patients, 26% used pain medication for 0 to 3 days, 44% required pain meds for 4 to 7 days, 26% from 8 to 14 days, and a total of 4% of patients needed pain medication for 15 days or longer. The median duration was about 6 days. That gives a flavor for the readers: the procedure can be well tolerated, and it may be that we have not come up with the best ways. Some of what we have talked about may need to be studied, including steroid use and earlier use of an NSAID.8,12 Would you have a problem if a patient had been on an NSAID a day or two before? Dr Siskin: No, it wouldn’t interfere with our comfort level. Right now, if we are concerned about patients who are potentially at risk for bleeding after the catheter is removed, we will use a closure device to seal the puncture site. Dr Bradley: In many specialities, music therapy and guided imagery have been well demonstrated to decrease both pain and the amount of pain medication required. Could these strategies be helpful for pain control in this context? Dr Dews: Possibly. With pain, there is always an anxiety component. Patients tend to do better if anxiety is reduced and they feel some autonomy. There could be a role for such modalities, especially as UFE moves increasingly into an outpatient setting. We should also keep in mind that when we talk about pain from UFE, we’re talking about ischemic pain. It would be interesting to look at ischemic pain in other scenarios and extrapolate that information to UFE. n References 1.Goldberg J. Current thinking on the role of interventional radiology in women’s health. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2007;2:621-629. 2. Worthington-Kirsch R, Popky G, Hutchins F Jr. Uterine arterial embolization for the management of leiomyomas: quality-of-life assessment and clinical response. Radiology. 1998;208:625629. 3.Spies JB, Scialli AR, Jha R, et al. Initial results from uterine fibroid embolization for symptomatic leiomyomata. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 1999;10:1149-1157. 4.Pelage JP, LeDref O, Soyer P, et al. Fibroid-related menorrhagia: treatment with superselective embolization of the uterine arteries and midterm follow-up. Radiology. 2000;215:428-431. 5.Brunereau L, Herbreteau D, Gallas S, et al. Uterine artery embolization in the primary treatment of uterine leiomyomas: technical features and prospective follow up with clinical and sonographic examination in 58 patients. AJR. 2000;175:1267-1272. 6.Hutchins FL Jr, Worthington-Kirsch R, Berkowitz RP. Selective uterine artery embolization as primary treatment for symptomatic leiomyomata uteri. J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc. 1999;6: 279-284. 7.Burn P, McCall J, Chinn R, et al. Embolization of uterine fibroids. Brit J Radiology. 1999;72: 159-161. 8.Pron G, Bennett J, Common A, et al. The Ontario Uterine Fibroid Embolization Trial. Part 2. Uterine fibroid reduction and symptom relief after uterine artery embolization for fibroids. Fertil Steril. 2003;79:120-127. Available at www.obgmanagement.com 9.Tulandi T. Treatment of uterine fibroids—Is surgery obsolete? N Engl J Med. 2007;356:411-413. 10.Walker WJ, Barton-Smith P. Long-term followup of uterine artery embolisation—an effective alternative in the treatment of fibroids. BJOG. 2006;113:464-468. 11.Spies JB, Bruno J, Czeyda-Pommersheim F, et al. Long-term outcome of uterine artery embolization of leiomyomata. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;106:933-939. 12.Pron G, Mocarski E, Bennett J, et al. Tolerance, hospital stay, and recovery after uterine artery embolization for fibroids: the Ontario Uterine Fibroid Embolization Trial. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2003;14:1243-1250. 13.Park AJ, Bohrer JC, Bradley LD, et al. Complications after uterine artery embolization for symptomatic uterine leiomyomas. Poster presented at: 34th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons; April 14-16, 2008; Savannah, GA. 14. R azavi MK, Hwang G, Jahed A, et al. Abdominal myomectomy versus uterine fibroid embolization in the treatment of symptomatic uterine leiomyomas. AJR. 2003;180:1571-1575. 15.Spies JB, Myers ER, Worthington-Kirsch R, et al. The Fibroid Registry. Symptom and quality-oflife status 1 year after therapy. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;106:1309-1318. 16.Siskin GP, Stainken BF, Dowling K, et al. Outpatient uterine artery embolization for symptomatic uterine fibroids: experience in 49 patients [abstract]. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2000;11:3-5-311. 17.Pelage JP, Guaou Guaou N, Jha RC, et al. Uterine fibroid tumors: Long-term MR imaging outcome after embolization. Radiology. 2004; 230:803-809. 18.Siskin GP, Bonn J, Worthington-Kirsch RL, et al. III. Uterine fibroid embolization: pain management. Tech Vasc Interv Radiol. 2002;5:35-43. 19.Roth AR, Spies JB, Walsh SM, et al. Pain after uterine artery embolization for leiomyomata: can its severity be predicted and does severity predict outcome? J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2000;11:1047-1052. 20.Siskin GP, Stainken BF, Dowling K, et al. Outpatient uterine artery embolization for symptomatic uterine fibroids: experience in 49 patients. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2000;11:305-311. 21.Siskin GP, Stainken BF, Dowling K, et al. The feasibility of performing uterine fibroid embolization as an outpatient procedure: Experience in 73 patients [abstract]. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2001;11:189. 22.Klein A, Schwartz ML. Uterine artery embolization for the treatment of uterine fibroids: an outpatient procedure. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2001;184:1556-1560; discussion 1560-1563. 23.Worthington-Kirsch RL, Koller NE. Time course of pain after uterine artery embolization for fibroid disease. Med Gen Med. 2000;4. http:// www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430765. Accessed July 11, 2008. 24.Rasuli P, Jolly EE, Hammond I, et al. Superior hypogastric nerve block for pain control in outpatient uterine artery embolization. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2004;15:1423-1429. 25.Gerges FJ, Kanazi GE, Jabbour-Khoury SI. Anesthesia for laparoscopy: a review. J Clin Anesth. 2006;18:67-78. 26.Brull R. Neurological complications after regional anesthesia: contemporary estimates of risk. Anesth Analg. 2007;104:965-974. Supplement to OBG Management | September 2008 S Self-Assessment and Activity Evaluation Uterine fibroid embolization Instructions for Credit Read the article and complete the following self-assessment and the activity evaluation. To receive CME credit and a certificate, fax or mail the completed form to the fax number/address below. Your CME certificate will be sent via email. If an email address is not provided, your certificate will be sent via mail. ARTICLE QUESTIONS 1. Uterine fibroid embolization should be offered to women who are seeking fertility. 5. A quality-of-life study of UFE versus surgery for fibroid management showed that: True False 2. The following are the most important types of medications that should be given at discharge to prevent readmission: narcotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, antiemetics, laxatives: True False 3. What are the most common complaints for patients within the first month after undergoing uterine fibroid embolization? Lethargy, discharge Cramping 45% 60% Vaginal discharge All of the above 4. Sustained symptom control (up to 5 years after UFE) is seen in what percentage of patients? 6. Infarction of the entire uterine fibroid burden by occluding flow is important since patients who have uninfarcted or viable fibroid tissue after UFE are at risk for fibroid recurrence. 80% 90% The embolization group had a shorter median duration of hospitalization than the surgery group At 1 year no significant differences were observed in any of the Short-Form Survey (SF-36) core components The embolization group had a shorter time before returning to work UFE was more cost-effective than surgery for patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids All of the above True False ACTIVITY evaluation Answer questions 1 and 2 using a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 = Strongly Agree, 3 = Agree, and 1 = Strongly Disagree. 1. The article met the stated objectives. 5 4 3 2 1 2. The article is relevant to my current clinical practice needs. 5 4 3 2 1 3. D isclosure of faculty relationships with commercial organizations was made available to me before the article. True False 4. The commercial supporters were acknowledged in print. True False 5. The article was balanced and free of commercial bias. True False 6. If trade names were used, trade names of all products discussed were used. True False 7. A ny off-label drug use and/or investigational drug use not yet approved by the FDA was disclosed before or during the activity. True False 8. I f you answered “false” to any of the above questions, please provide details in the comments section below. Your certificate for continuing education credit will be issued from the following information: (please print clearly) today’s date Degree do Resident NP Other_ __________________________ Home Business Specialty Preferred mailing address No. of Providers street Address Home phone Omnia Education, ATTN: Fibroids 500 Office Center Drive, Ste 300 Fort Washington, PA 19034 Fax: 215.358.0556 Name md City, state, Zip Mobile Phone Office Phone Office Fax Email Total time spent on this activity ___________________ Signature__________________________________________________________ Maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM Your CME certificate will be sent via email. If an email is not provided above, your certificate will be sent via mail. Education, Inc., is a registered service mark of US HealthConnect, Inc. Printed in the USA. SOmniaSeptember 2008 | Supplement to OBG Management Return completed quiz and evaluation form to: Release Date: September 1, 2008 Expiration Date: August 31, 2009
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