Meta-analysis on the use of hyaluronic acid gel to prevent recurrence of intrauterine adhesion after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis

Intrauterine adhesion is a severe complication after intrauterine operation, Various adjuvant therapies failed to improve clinical symptoms and pregnancy rates among patients with moderate-to-severe intrauterine adhesion. At present, hyaluronic acid gel is widely used in the primary prevention of adhesion after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. However, its efficacy is still under debate. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy of hyaluronic acid gel in preventing the recurrence of intrauterine adhesion after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. The Cochrane Library, Embase, and PubMed databases were used to search for articles published before July 31, 2018, using the following terms: hyaluronic acid, intrauterine adhesions, Asherman's syndrome, IUA, hysteroscopy, and hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. Studies on therapies after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis were collected. The recurrence rate of and pregnancy rate in the presence of intrauterine adhesion after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis were analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software. A total of 6 articles were selected, which included 394 patients who were subjected to hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. The meta-analysis results showed that (1) no statistically significant difference was found between hyaluronic acid gel use and without its use on the score of intrauterine adhesion after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis [the mean difference (MD) = ?0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) (?2.53–0.76), P = 0.29], neither a statistically significant difference was observed between the same groups on the recurrence rate of intrauterine adhesion [odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% CI (0.31–1.81), P = 0.53]; (2) subgroup analysis showed that hyaluronic acid gel could reduce the rate of intrauterine adhesion recurrence in randomized controlled trials [OR = ?0.28, 95% CI (0.14–0.56), P = 0.0006]. However, the recurrence rate of intrauterine adhesion after the use of hyaluronic acid gel was not statistically significant in non-randomized controlled experiments [OR = 1.53, 95% CI (0.79–2.95), P = 0.21]; (3) hyaluronic acid gel did not result in a significant effect on pregnancy rate after intrauterine adhesion separation [OR = 2.02, 95% CI (0.53–7.66), P = 0.3]. In conclusion, hyaluronic acid gel could reduce the recurrence rate of intrauterine adhesion, but had no significant effect on the postoperative pregnancy rate.