Effects of race and clinical factors on short-term outcomes of abdominal myomectomy.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the effects of race and preoperative uterine anatomy on complication rates after myomectomy.


METHODS
A total of 239 abdominal myomectomies were performed at Duke University Medical Center from July 1992 through June 1998. Charts were abstracted using standardized forms. We assessed patient characteristics, surgical indications, preoperative hematocrit, and operative findings. Outcomes were defined as any complication, including transfusion.


RESULTS
The population (n = 225) was 53% black and 47% white. The mean body mass index was 26. Fourteen percent had comorbidities. Twenty percent required transfusion. Black women were found to be more likely to have uteri with more than four leiomyomata and less likely to have only one leiomyoma (P =.001). Black women were 2.48 times more likely to have a complication (P <.006). Race was no longer a significant predictor for complications (odds ratio [OR] 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56, 3.15) after adjustment for uterine size (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.3, 2.67), number of leiomyomata (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.1, 3.14), and comorbidities (OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.1, 7.69). A similar pattern was seen for blood transfusion.


CONCLUSIONS
Black women undergoing myomectomy are more than twice as likely to have in-hospital complication or blood transfusion than white women. This is largely attributable to differences in uterine size and leiomyoma number. Research is needed to explore why black women are more likely to have larger and more numerous leiomyomata at the time of presentation for surgery.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi 39211, USA. timbukted@yahoo.com
Ted M
TM
Roth
Tara
T
Gustilo-Ashby
Matthew D
MD
Barber
Evan R
ER
Myers
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D044383:Black People; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000208:ethnology / Q000601:surgery*; D009215:Myometrium / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000601:surgery*