Comparison of diagnostic accuracy of saline infusion sonohysterography, transvaginal sonography and hysteroscopy in postmenopausal bleeding

Background: Postmenopausal bleeding (PMB)accounts for 5% of gynecology visit. All with unexpected uterine bleeding should be evaluated for endometrial carcinoma since this potentially lethal disease is the cause of bleeding in approximately 10 percent patients (range 1 to 25 percent, depending upon risk factors). The aim of the study was to evaluate endometrial causes of postmenopausal bleeding (PMB) with it's correlation with endometrial thickness (ET)and hysteroscopy findings and endometrial tissue histopathology.Methods: A total 50 consecutive cases of PMB fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria and giving informed consent were selected. Each patient was subjected to transvaginal sonography (TVS) in which uterus, adnexa and endometrial thickness (ET) was assessed. Then hysteroscopy and/or dilation and curettage was scheduled at subsequent visit. Endometrial sample was sent for histopathological examination. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy was calculated for ET by TVS and hysteroscopy findings, considering histopathological diagnosis as the gold standard.Results: Most common endometrial cause of PMB was atrophic endometrium (44%). The other causes were endometrial carcinoma (18%), endometrial hyperplasia (18%), endometrial polyp (12%), endometritis (4%), and leiomyoma (4%). The diagnostic accuracy of ET by TVS at a cut-off point of 5 mm was 94% with sensitivity 89.3%, specificity 100%, PPV 100% and NPV 88%. The diagnostic accuracy of hysteroscopy was 98% with sensitivity 96.4%, specificity 100%, PPV 100% and NPV 95.7%.Conclusions: Being relatively cheap, easily accessible, non-invasive, TVS with ET measurement should first line investigation in the evaluation of women with postmenopausal bleeding with suspected endometrial pathology. Although hysteroscopy is more specific and sensitive, in poor resource settings it should be limited to cases with ill-deﬁned endometrial lining, recurrent/ persistent bleeding and cases with endometrial thickness greater than 5 mm irrespective of endometrial echotexture.

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Differences between proximal and distal endometrial monolayer thickness in women aged over 50 years undergoing saline infusion sonohysterography

Acta Radiologica ◽

10.1177/02841851211072278 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 028418512110722

Author(s):

Georgios Doulaveris ◽

Theofano Orfanelli ◽

Stewart Barlow ◽

Ohad Rotenberg

Keyword(s):

Retrospective Study ◽

Double Layer ◽

Saline Infusion ◽

Postmenopausal Bleeding ◽

Ultrasound Probe ◽

Endometrial Tumor ◽

The Mean ◽

The Difference ◽

Saline Infusion Sonohysterography

Background Saline infusion sonohysterography (SIS) is a procedure performed to evaluate the endometrium in women with postmenopausal bleeding. Purpose To investigate differences in endometrial monolayer measurements in women aged >50 years undergoing SIS. Material and Methods Retrospective study of women aged >50 undergoing SIS. Endometrial echo (EE) was measured according to the International Endometrial Tumor Analysis (IETA) guidelines. Monolayer thickness was compared between anterior and posterior uterine walls and between the monolayer that was proximal or distal to the ultrasound probe. Presence and location of focal thickening and polyps on each of the monolayers were assessed. Results SIS was performed in 608 patients. Of them, 485 (79.8%) had anteverted, 85 (14%) retroverted, and 38 (6.2%) a midposition uterus. The mean posterior monolayer was thicker than the anterior monolayer (2.14 mm vs. 1.88 mm; P = 0.002). The distal monolayer was thicker than the proximal layer in both anteverted and retroverted uteri (2.18 mm vs. 1.84 mm; P < 0.0001). In 16% of women, the difference between distal and proximal monolayers was ≥1 mm. Focal thickening was seen 3.3 times more frequently in the distal endometrium. Among women with a double layer EE >4 mm, 18.8% had a proximal layer of <2 mm while only 4.6% had a distal EE <2 mm. Conclusion Distal endometrium measures thicker than the proximal endometrium in most SIS cases and in one out of six women, the difference is >1 mm. The distal layer is three times more likely to contain focal thickening. Sonologists should be conscious of possible enhancement artifact when measuring the EE during SIS.

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