Xiao-Ling Shen,1,* Zhuo-Yi Li,1,* Qing Li,1 Kai Wang2 

1Department of Women Health Care, Women and Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Aristogenesis, Women and Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Kai Wang; Qing Li, Email wangkai111909@163.com; lq5090@126.com

Purpose: To verify whether there is lower incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment than loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) in young women of childbearing age.
Patients and Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled 46 patients treated with HIFU and 46 patients treated with LEEP. To compare the differences between the two groups, Fisher’s exact test or the Kruskal–Wallis (K-W/H) test was used in the univariate analysis, while the logistic regression method was applied for further verification.
Results: Basic characteristics showed no differences between the two groups (P > 0.05) except for parity (P < 0.001). Preterm birth rates were 6.52% and 0.00% in patients with cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) treated with LEEP and HIFU, respectively. The incidence rates of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) were respectively 15.22% and 21.74% in the two groups. There was no significant difference in pregnancy outcomes between the two groups (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: This study is the first to compare the pregnancy outcomes of patients with cervical HSIL who treated with LEEP and HIFU procedures. Both HIFU treatment and LEEP are available options for patients of reproductive age with cervical HSIL. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct prospective single-center or multicenter randomized controlled studies.

Keywords: cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, high-intensity focused ultrasound, loop electrosurgical excision procedure, pregnancy outcome