Objectives: To ascertain whether treatment with a gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonist before endometrial resection reduces absorption of distension fluid and operating time and facilitates the procedure.
Design: A multicentre, prospective, randomised controlled study.
Participants: Seventy-one premenopausal women with established menorrhagia.
Interventions: Eight weeks of goserelin depot treatment before endometrial resection of immediate surgery in the early proliferative phase of the cycle.
Main outcome measures: Irrigation fluid deficit, operating time and degree or difficulty of the procedure.
Results: After randomisation eight women withdrew from the study, leaving 33 women in the goserelin arm and 30 in the immediate surgery arm. Mean (SD) operating time was 15.1 (9.0) min in the goserelin group versus 16.9 (9.5) min in the controls; mean difference + 1.8 min, 95% CI, -2.9 to + 6.4. Mean (SD) distension medium deficit was, respectively, 422 (287) ml versus 564 (291 ml); mean difference + 142 ml, 95% CI -4 to + 288. The goserelin effect was restricted to the 29 women with adenomyosis as the mean (SD) fluid deficit was considerably less in the 19 treated women than in the 10 controls (299 (206) ml versus 597 (135) ml; mean difference + 298 ml, 95% CI + 149 to + 447). The surgeons classified the intraoperative difficulties as none in 6, minimal in 20, moderate in 7, and severe in no cases in the goserelin group; corresponding figures in the group without pretreatment were 2, 14, 13, and 1.
Conclusions: Goserelin administration before endometrial resection may reduce absorption of fluid at surgery in women with adenomyosis and may facilitate intrauterine operating conditions.