Evaluation of the Diagnostic Accuracy of the Interview and Physical Examination in the Diagnosis of Endometriosis as the Cause of Chronic Pelvic Pain

Jolanta Nawrocka-Rutkowska, Iwona Szydłowska, Aleksandra Rył, Sylwester Ciećwież, Magdalena Ptak and Andrzej Starczewski
Additional contact information
Jolanta Nawrocka-Rutkowska: Department of Gynecology, Endocrinology and Gynecological Oncology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 71-256 Szczecin, Poland
Iwona Szydłowska: Department of Gynecology, Endocrinology and Gynecological Oncology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 71-256 Szczecin, Poland
Aleksandra Rył: Department of Medical Rehabilitation and Clinical Physiotherapy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland
Sylwester Ciećwież: Department of Gynecology, Endocrinology and Gynecological Oncology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 71-256 Szczecin, Poland
Magdalena Ptak: Department of Medical Rehabilitation and Clinical Physiotherapy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland
Andrzej Starczewski: Department of Gynecology, Endocrinology and Gynecological Oncology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, 71-256 Szczecin, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-9

Abstract: Background: Chronic pelvic pain affects approximately 15% of reproductive age women. It is mainly caused by adhesions (20–40%). Despite CPP being the main symptom of endometriosis, the disease is confirmed by laparoscopy only in 12–18% of cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of laparoscopy in women with CCP and to assess the sensitivity and specificity of elements of an interview and clinical examination. Materials and methods: The study included 148 women with CPP. Each patient underwent laparoscopy. In laparoscopy, the presence of endometriosis and/or peritoneal adhesions was confirmed. Then, the sensitivity and specificity and the positive and negative predictive value of endometriosis symptoms or abnormalities in the gynecological examination were statistically calculated. Results: After previous surgery, adhesions were found in almost half (47%) of patients. In patients without a history of surgery, adhesions were diagnosed in 6.34% of patients. Endometriosis without coexisting adhesions was more often diagnosed in women without previous surgery (34.9%), compared to 10.58% in the group with a history of surgery ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: Intraperitoneal adhesions are most common in women after pelvic surgery and with chronic ailments. The best results for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value in the diagnosis of endometriosis are found in women with irregular menstruations during which the pain increases. Laparoscopy still remains the primary diagnostic and therapeutic method for these women.

Keywords: chronic pelvic pain; endometriosis; pelvic adhesions; laparoscopy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6606/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6606/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6606-:d:577982

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().