Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Endometriosis

Abstract

Background: To evaluate diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal sonography and laparoscopy in the diagnosis of endometriosis. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective study of women scheduled for laparoscopy because of infertility assessment. Consecutive patients were assessed prospectively using TVS before laparoscopy and the findings of preoperative TVS were compared with the results obtained by laparoscopy as a gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values, and accuracy were calculated for the diagnosis of endometriosis. Results: In total, 262 women (mean age 31 + 4.47) had preoperative TVS and laparoscopies. Of these, 78 had endometriosis. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed; the sensitivity and specificity of the TVS in the diagnosis of pelvic endometriosis were 53% and 95%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive value were 63% and 92%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy was 88%. Conclusions: TVS is a good test for assessing pelvic endometriosis. Good specificity and sensitivity were obtained in the diagnosis of deep endometriosis. TVS is particularly accurate in detecting deep endometriosis, which could facilitate more effective triaging of women for appropriate surgical care.