Adolescent endometriosis.

Abstract

Endometriosis can exist in the adolescent female. It can be a very disruptive disease and cause significant dysfunction at a time in life when self-esteem, school attendance, and school performance are critical to achievement of life goals. Approaches to diagnosis and management in the recent literature are reviewed, focusing on those that apply directly to the adolescent or indirectly, by extrapolation from work done in the adult population. Practical strategies for adolescent patient care are presented. Recent research has focused on the efficacy of current treatment modalities and management of potential adverse side effects. Possible etiologies of endometriosis have been proposed, and therapies directed at those causes are being explored. Methods of diagnosis, both invasive and noninvasive, have been studied in order to determine the most effective way of diagnosing the disease. A better understanding of the etiology of endometriosis would probably assist in determining the most suitable treatment strategies. Future work in adolescent endometriosis should focus on developing safe, minimally invasive, yet definitive options for diagnosis and treatment.