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EP15.28: Value of “elasto strain ratio” ultrasound elastography in the differential diagnosis of endometrial polyps and submucosal myomas: preliminary study
Author(s) -
Wozniak S.,
Czuczwar P.,
Szkodziak P.R.,
Krzyzanowski A.,
Wozniak A.,
Paszkowski T.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.202
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1469-0705
pISSN - 0960-7692
DOI - 10.1002/uog.20023
Subject(s) - medicine , endometrial polyp , elastography , myometrium , hysteroscopy , radiology , ultrasound , endometrium , gynecology , uterus
Objectives: Endometrial polyps and submucous fibroids are most commonly focal abnormalities acquired during ultrasound examination within the uterine cavity. Elastography is an ultrasound-based imaging technique visualising the stiffness of the examined region. This technique enables to match the elasticity of organs with a range of colours and depicts the strain ratios on a colour map. Aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound elastography for the diagnosis of focally growing lesions within uterine cavity. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational monocentric single-operator study on diagnostic accuracy, assessing the usefulness of strain elastography in differentiating endometrial polyps and submucosal fibroids. We examined fifty three women aged 25–42 years. On the day of admission to the hospital, each patient underwent a transvaginal sonographic examination with elastographic assessment of the intrauterine lesion stiffness. The following day, the hysteroscopy was performed as the reference test. Elastographic evaluation of the myometrium was performed with use of Alpinion E-CUBE 15 Platinum equipped with ‘‘Elasto Strain Ratio’’ software. The stiffness of focal endometrium lesions was compared to the stiffness of normal myometrium and ‘‘Elasto Strain Ratio’’ was calculated. Results: ‘‘Elasto Strain Ratio’’ of myometrium in group of focal endometrium lesions evaluated during hysteroscopy as polyps (N=29) was calculated as 0.32 (range 0.25 – 0.47). In group of women suffering from submucosal myomas (n=23) ‘‘Elasto Strain Ratio’’ was 1.29 (range 1.04 – 1.65). Conclusions: The results of the study indicate a decrease of focal endometrium lesions stiffness estimated in patients with polyps compared to the group of patients with submucosal myomas. This study showed that, the use of elastography in addition to conventional ultrasound could help to distinguish between endometrial polyps and submucosal myomas.