Comparison of Risks Between Two Sterilization Methods

Hysteroscopic sterilization is a non-surgical procedure that is associated with a higher risk of gynecological complications, reveals a new study. Hysteroscopic sterilization is placing small implants in the fallopian tubes to render a woman //infertile, was associated with an increased risk of gynecological complications (most notably sterilization failure with subsequent pregnancy) compared to surgical sterilization, but there were no differences between the two approaches in medical outcomes.

In developed countries, two main types of female sterilization are available: hysteroscopic and laparoscopic, the latter involving general anesthesia and a small incision in the abdominal wall.

Safety concerns related to hysteroscopic sterilization were raised in the United States in 2015 by women who reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) large numbers of adverse events, including bleeding, unwanted pregnancy, abdominal pain, depression, and thyroid disorders.

About 105,357 women in France who underwent hysteroscopic sterilization (n = 71,303) or laparoscopic sterilization (n = 34,054) between 2010 and 2014 and followed up through December 2015.

Risks of procedural complications (surgical and medical), gynecological complications (sterilization failure that includes second sterilization procedure or pregnancy) and medical outcomes (including all types of allergy; autoimmune diseases; thyroid disorder; use of analgesics, antimigraines, antidepressants, outpatient visits; sickness absence; suicide attempts; death) that occurred within one and three years after sterilization.

This is an observational study. Because researchers are not intervening for purposes of the study they cannot control natural differences that could explain the study findings.

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The authors were Mahmoud Zureik, M.D., Ph.D., French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety, Saint-Denis, France and coauthors.

Compared with laparoscopic sterilization, hysteroscopic sterilization was:

• Associated with a lower immediate risk of procedural complications
• Associated with a higher risk of gynecological complications
• Not associated with an increased risk of certain medical outcomes

The study limitations include administrative databases were used to investigate a possible role of hysteroscopic sterilization in notified complaints. All individual disorders reported by patients or physicians and collected into medical device vigilance databases could not be examined.

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Source-Eurekalert