Impact of nafarelin and leuprolide for endometriosis on quality of life and subjective clinical measures

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of treating endometriosis with nafarelin or leuprolide acetate depot on patient quality of life (QOL) and subjective clinical measures. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized multicenter study was conducted on 192 women with endometriosis. Patients received nafarelin or leuprolide for six months and were followed for up to six months after treatment. QOL sons defined by seven items, including symptom severity, daily activities, pain medication use and need for bed rest. RESULTS: No significant differences were found at baseline between treatments for patients with mild, moderate or no endometriosis symptoms. Those with severe symptoms of endometriosis at baseline and taking nafarelin had a significantly greater improvement in QOL at the last posttreatment visit than those receiving leuprolide (P < .01). Nafarelin was associated with significantly fewer days with moderate or severe hot flashes than leuprolide during treatment (P < .05) and with significantly fewer moderate or severe hypoestrogenic symptoms overall at three months of treatment (P < .05). Additionally, poorer QOL was significantly associated with hypoestrogenic and endometriosis symptoms. CONCLUSION: Treatment of endometriosis with nafarelin was associated with fewer days of moderate or severe hot flashes as compared to leuprolide and with greater improvement in QOL after treatment in patients with severe symptoms at baseline.