Pregnancy Rate and Outcomes Following Uterine Artery Embolization for Uterine Arteriovenous Malformations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: To systematically review published studies on the pregnancy rate and outcomes after uterine artery embolization (UAE) for uterine arteriovenous malformations (UAVMs).

Materials and methods: International medical databases were searched for all English-language studies published between 2000 and 2022 on patients with UAVMs who had undergone embolization and had a subsequent pregnancy. Data on the pregnancy rate, pregnancy complications, and physiologic status of newborns were extracted from the articles. Ten case series were included in the meta-analysis, and 18 case reports on pregnancy following UAE were reviewed.

Results: In the case series, 44 pregnancies were reported in 189 patients. The pooled estimate of pregnancy rate was 23.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.3%-29.3%). The pregnancy rate was higher in studies of women with a mean age of ≤30 years (50.6% vs 22.2%; P < .05). The pooled estimate of live birth rate was 88.6% (95% CI, 78.6%-98.7%).

Conclusions: All published series report preservation of fertility and successful pregnancies after embolization of UAVMs. The live birth rate in these series does not differ substantially from that of the general population.