Clinical assessment of uterine artery embolization combined with curettage when treating patients with cesarean scar pregnancy: A retrospective study of 169 cases

Aim Recent years have witnessed an elevated incidence of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP). However, the clinical complications and consequences of uterine artery embolization (UAE) and curettage treatment for CSP patients are not clear. We aimed to assess menstrual recovery and other clinically pertinent factors after UAE and curettage treatment in CSP patients. Methods A total of 169 CSP patients who underwent UAE combined with curettage between August 2013 and August 2017 were enrolled in this study. The menstruation recovery was recorded, and the factors that potentially affected menstrual blood volume (MBV) were analyzed. Results Among the 169 CSP cases, 36 had asymptomatics (21.3%), 133 vaginal hemorrhage (78.7%) and 19 lower abdominal pain (11.2%). The success rate of treatment was 96.4% with six patients undergoing further treatment. The follow-up assessment was performed in 139 of 169 patients. About 83 of 139 (59.7%) patients had reduced MBV, and 2 patients (1.4%) had amenorrhea. There was a significant difference in numbers of abortions between the decreased and normal MBV group (P = 0.0276). Importantly, 16 of 42 cases who were planning on having babies became pregnant, with 8 from the decreased (8/27) and normal MBV (8/15) group each. Conclusion UAE combined with curettage treatment in CSP patients demonstrates a favorable success rate, which can also reduce MBV and proceeding pregnancy rate.