The study was done to compare electro-diathermy with helium thermal coagulation in the laparoscopic treatment of mild‐to‐moderate endometriosis. The research design used was a parallel‐group randomized controlled trial in the UK endometriosis center.
The participants that were included in the study were non‐pregnant women aged 16–50 years with a clinical diagnosis of mild‐to‐moderate endometriosis.
192 women in total were randomized. Of these, 81% completed the primary outcome point at 12 weeks. In an intention‐to‐treat analysis, VAS scores for cyclical pain were significantly lower in the electro-diathermy group compared with the helium group at 12 weeks and across all time points. A significant difference in dyspareunia also favored electro-diathermy at 12 weeks. These effects were smaller than the proposed minimum important difference of 18.00 mm, however. Differences in some aspects of quality of life favored electro-diathermy. There was no significant difference in operative blood loss.
Although electro-diathermy was statistically superior to helium ablation in reducing cyclical pain and dyspareunia, these effects may be too small to be clinically significant. The study concluded that helium coagulation is not superior to electro-diathermy in laparoscopic treatment of mild‐to‐moderate endometriosis.
Reference: https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.16279
