TITLE:
Endometriosis Diagnosis Correlation of Laparoscopic Visualization and Histopathology Confirmation in Low Resource Setting
AUTHORS:
J. Wanyoike Gichuhi, Julius Ogengo, Peter Gichangi
KEYWORDS:
Endometriosis, Diagnosis, Laparoscopy, Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.11 No.7,
July
16,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Endometriosis isenigmatic clinical entity which
is described as the location of the endometrial tissue external of the
uterine cavity. Endometriosis constitutes a serious health issue due to its
high affliction of 10% of reproductive women. With limited resources in Africa,
it is essential to assess whether diagnosis of endometriosis by laparoscopic visualization can be used as a substitute for
histology. Objective: To correlate the diagnosis of endometriosis by
laparoscopic visualization and the histological confirmation of the biopsy
taken. Methods: A prospective cross sectional study with a sample size of 443 was
undertaken in the diagnosis of endometriosis among Africans in Nairobi, Kenya
from March 2019 to March 2021. Women undergoing laparoscopy were screened for
endometriosis by visualization and a biopsy was taken for histopathology.
Diagnosis of endometriosis by visualization was correlated with histological confirmed endometriosis. Results: Women with a diagnosis of endometriosis through laparoscopic visualization were
found to be 77 (17.4%) and 30 (6.8%) had positive histology for endometriosis.
Laparoscopic visualization diagnosis had a low positive predictive value of
39%. Conclusion: Laparoscopic visualization diagnosis had a low positive
predictive value of 39% and this did not correlate with histopathologic diagnosis. It is essential to perform biopsy with histopathology for the confirmation
of endometriosis.