Effect of US-guided Alcohol Sclerotherapy for Endometriomas on Pelvic Pain and Quality of Life

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease that affects women of reproductive age, characterized by the abnormal growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity.

It affects 5-10% of women of reproductive age (Becker et al., 2022) and is associated with infertility in 40% of cases (Coccia et al., 2008). Among its clinical forms, ovarian endometrioma is the most frequent, appearing in 15-45% of patients with endometriosis (Cranney et al., 2017). In addition to its impact on fertility, the main clinical manifestation of endometriosis is pain. Chronic pelvic pain caused by endometriosis can be disabling and even lead to work absenteeism, with a significant impact on the quality of life of affected patients, who often experience delayed diagnosis, making its management even more difficult and requiring a multidisciplinary approach (Horne & Missmer, 2022).

Currently, there is still no consensus on what should be the first-line treatment for ovarian endometrioma (Gordts & Campo, 2019). However, cystectomy reduces ovarian reserve due to the removal of healthy ovarian tissue adjacent to the cyst wall-something that further worsens the reproductive prognosis in patients whose fertility is already diminished due to endometriosis per se (Alborzi et al., 2021; Martinez-Garcia et al., 2021). Moreover, despite surgical removal of the endometrioma, the recurrence rate is high, ranging from 15-30% (Jee, 2022).

In recent years, there has been a shift toward more conservative treatments for the management of endometrioma, such as expectant management or aspiration and sclerosis (Garcia-Tejedor et al., 2020). Various authors have shown that ultrasound-guided aspiration and alcohol sclerosis may be a promising option, as concluded in the meta-analysis by Cohen et al., which found that recurrence rates were similar to those of laparoscopic management of ovarian endometrioma, but with fewer complications. Results in assisted reproductive technology are also better compared to surgical treatment in symptomatic women, particularly in those with low ovarian reserve (Zhang et al., 2022). Furthermore, other comparative studies between surgery and aspiration-sclerosis have shown that, although recurrence rates are similar, pregnancy rates are higher in patients treated with sclerosis, with the same complication rate and significantly lower costs (Garcia-Tejedor et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2022).

Currently, the first-line treatment in patients diagnosed with endometriosis is hormonal therapy through the use of hormonal contraceptives. However, its efficacy in managing endometrioma is lower, and therefore, there is no consensus on its indication for this specific form of endometriosis (Cranney et al., 2017). In patients with a desire for pregnancy, alternative approaches are sought that do not interfere with fertility. At present, this often involves proceeding with in vitro fertilization without treating the endometrioma first, followed by surgery if needed (Miquel et al., 2020).