title: Transvaginal sonographic assessment of premalignant and malignant changes in the endometrium in postmenopausal bleeding.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We explored the value of transvaginal sonography as a screening technique for endometrial abnormalities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Transvaginal sonography was used to evaluate the likelihood that an endometrial abnormality was present in a group of 103 women with postmenopausal bleeding.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sonographic findings showed a mean endometrial thickness of 6.2 mm in patients with endometrial atrophy, 12.4 mm in patients with simple hyperplasia, 13.4 mm in patients with complex hyperplasia, and 14.1 mm in patients with endometrial carcinoma. There was no statistically significant difference in endometrial thickness measurements between the hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma groups. However, the difference between these groups and the endometrial atrophy group was statistically significant. The mean age was significantly higher for patients with endometrial carcinoma (62 years) than for the patients in the other groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study shows that transvaginal sonography is a useful method of screening for endometrial abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fistonic
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hodek
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Klaric
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jokanovic
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grubisic
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ivicevic-Bakulic
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004714:Endometrial Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D004717:Endometrium / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D019160:Endosonography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014592:Uterine Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D014621:Vagina / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging