Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Research Publications
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ItemThe use of the myometrial-cervical ratio in the ultrasound diagnosis of adenomyosis - A validation study(WILEY, 2022-08)BACKGROUND: Adenomyosis is a benign disorder defined by ectopic endometrial glands within the uterine myometrium. A study by Mooney et al reported the myometrial-cervical ratio (MCR), a novel ultrasound measurement that was found to improve the preoperative diagnosis of adenomyosis. AIMS: To validate the association between sonographic MCR and adenomyosis confirmed on histopathology in an independent patient group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Single-centre retrospective cohort study including women who underwent hysterectomy between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2018 for a benign, non-obstetric indication with an ultrasound at the study centre prior to surgery. Clinical details and histopathology were extracted. Ultrasound images were reviewed by a gynaecology ultrasound subspecialist blinded to histological findings. RESULTS: Eight hundred eighty-seven patients underwent hysterectomy in the study period for eligible indications; 317 had an ultrasound at the study centre and were included. There was no statistically significant association between the MCR and adenomyosis on histology when all patients were included; however, increased MCR was associated with adenomyosis when those with fibroids on ultrasound were excluded. The area under the receiver operating characteristic for this model was 0.614 (95% CI: 0.53 to 0.69). The optimal MCR cut-point in this subgroup was 1.79, which achieved 55.6% sensitivity and 62.8% specificity, with 58.5% correctly classified. There was no significant difference in MCR compared to traditional ultrasound markers of adenomyosis. CONCLUSIONS: In a population undergoing hysterectomy for benign and non-obstetric indications, the MCR applied to preoperative ultrasound was only weakly associated with a histological diagnosis of adenomyosis.
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ItemMulticentre retrospective study to assess diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for superficial endometriosisAre we any closer?(WILEY, 2019-04)BACKGROUND: To establish whether the ultrasound findings of minimal endometriosis are confirmed at laparoscopy and that a correlation can be established as to the anatomical sites in this mild form of the disease. AIMS: Patients with pain and suspicion of endometriosis had an ultrasound scan by a sonologist with expertise in endometriosis as part of their pre-operative workup. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The clinical histories of 53 patients who had laparoscopy to investigate pelvic pain were reviewed. Ultrasounds were performed between 2012 and 2015 by a single sonologist with expertise in endometriosis assessments. The ultrasound findings were divided into subgroups as follows - presence of uterosacral ligament thickness, thickened pericolic fat, ovarian mobility and focal tenderness. These were compared with operative findings of those patients with superficial endometriosis. Evidence Level 3 - observational studies with controls and health services research that includes adjustment for likely confounding factors. RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent (42/53) of the patients had laparoscopic findings consistent with their ultrasound findings (95% CI 68-90%, P < 0.0001). Of the subgroups that we reviewed, uterosacral thickening (P < 0.05) and thickened pericolic fat (P < 0.05) were the most associated with superficial endometriosis at the time of laparoscopy. CONCLUSION: Markers on ultrasound that reliably demonstrated inflammation (thickened uterosacral ligaments and thickened pericolic fat) were shown to be significantly associated with the disease.
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ItemThe myometrial-cervical ratio (MCR): Assessing the diagnostic accuracy of a novel ultrasound measurement in the diagnosis of adenomyosis(WILEY, 2022-02)BACKGROUND: Adenomyosis is histologically defined by the presence of endometrial glands and stroma in the myometrium. To date, there are no standardised ultrasound findings that reliably predict histological adenomyosis. AIMS: This study aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of a novel sonographic measurement for adenomyosis, the myometrial-cervical ratio (MCR), when compared with histopathological diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-centre retrospective study was performed. The MCR was calculated from the pre-operative ultrasound, and histopathology reviewed for each case. Accuracy data were analysed in the form of 2 × 2 tables. The discriminative value of the MCR was summarised with a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. Sub-analysis examined the impact of fibroids, hormonal suppression, menopausal status, parity and indication for surgery. RESULTS: Between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2018, 982 patients underwent hysterectomy for benign non-obstetric indication and adequate pre-operative ultrasound was available for 260. The MCR demonstrated limited diagnostic ability for adenomyosis (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) 0.58, 95% CI 0.51-0.65). However, when applied to cases with no uterine fibroid included in the MCR calculation (n = 133) there was a strong association between MCR and diagnosis of adenomyosis (odds ratio: 5.79, 95% CI: 2.15, 15.62, P = 0.001) with AUROC for this model 0.68 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.77). At an MCR cut-point of 1.74, sensitivity is 67.16% and specificity is 66.15%, with 66.67% of samples correctly classified. CONCLUSIONS: While diagnostic accuracy was suboptimal, the MCR outperforms traditional ultrasound diagnostic features of adenomyosis. The MCR may offer a simple imaging measurement for adenomyosis.