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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · The Arab Journal of Interventional Radiology 2020; 4(02): 079-082
DOI: 10.4103/AJIR.AJIR_21_20
Original Article

Awareness of Uterine Artery Embolization as a Treatment for Fibroids among Saudi Women

Meshael Nazzal Alreshidi
Medical Intern, College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Dalal Alshubrmi
Medical Intern, College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Ibrahim Alrashidi
Department of Radiology, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Mohammad Arabi
Department of Radiology, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Context: No study has investigated the awareness of uterine artery embolization (UAE) as a treatment option for uterine fibroids among Saudi women. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate Saudi women's awareness of UAE as a therapeutic modality for uterine fibroids Settings and Design: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Hail and Riyadh. Subjects and Methods: In 2019, an anonymous online questionnaire was sent via social media to women residing in Hail and Riyadh. The questionnaire contained 11 multiple-choice questions divided into two parts. The first part contained questions about demographic characteristics and one question about their history of fibroids. The second part contained items pertaining to awareness of treatment options for uterine fibroids and whether they were aware of UAE. Statistical Analysis Used: The Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Eight hundred and forty-five responses have been received. Overall, 76.1% of the respondents had never heard of UAE. Awareness of treatment options for uterine fibroids was significantly associated with education level and participants' involvement in a medical field (P < 0.05; Chi-squared test). 9.2% were from respondents who reported a history of fibroids. Among them, 71.7% had never heard of UAE; 9% had heard about it from an obstetrician or gynecologist. Only 6.4% of the participants were aware of all the treatment options for uterine fibroids; 28.2% believed that hysterectomy was the only treatment for uterine fibroids. Conclusions: This study highlights the need for public awareness of the treatment options for uterine fibroids to appropriate candidates.

Saudi Arabia - uterine artery embolization - uterine fibroids - women

Appendix



Publication History

Received: 09 May 2020
Received: 26 May 2020

Accepted: 14 June 2020

Article published online:
26 March 2021

© 2020. The Arab Journal of Interventional Radiology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

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