Comparison of Pain Within 24 h after Uterine Artery Embolization with Tris-Acryl Gelatin Microspheres Versus Gelatin Sponge Particles for Leiomyoma.

To compare acute pain after uterine artery embolization (UAE) with tris-acryl gelatin microspheres (TAGM) versus gelatin sponge particles (GS) for leiomyoma. This was a single-institution, retrospective study. Between July 2008 and November 2016, 101 consecutive patients with symptomatic uterine leiomyoma underwent UAE with the same protocol for post-procedural pain. GS was employed with near-stasis endpoint for the first 49 patients, whereas TAGM was used with limited endpoint for the next 52 patients. Post-UAE pain levels were compared between both groups with a linear mixed model using visual analog scale (VAS) scores from 0 to 18 h as a repeat measure outcome. Peak VAS < 24 h or dose of drugs for analgesia and conscious sedation was compared by analysis of variance. Tumor infarction was assessed with post-procedural contrast-enhanced MRI. Baseline demographics and most outcomes including tumor infarction were similar between both groups. The average VAS scores during the period <24 h were significantly lower in TAGM group (1.68, 95% CI 1.23-2.13) compared to GS group (3.28, 95% CI 2.82-3.74, p < 0.0001). The difference remained significant even after adjustment for other factors (p < 0.0001). The mean peak VAS < 24 h was also lower in TAGM group (3.89, 95% CI 3.25-4.53) than in GS group (5.90, 95% CI 5.20-6.53, p < 0.0001). The dose of drugs for analgesia and conscious sedation was significantly lower in TAGM group (p = 0.001, p = 0.004, respectively). TAGM had an advantage over GS in UAE for leiomyoma in terms of less post-procedural pain <24 h, with lower doses of drugs for analgesia and conscious sedation.