Relevance of gastrointestinal symptoms in endometriosis.
BACKGROUND
Endometriosis commonly presents with a range of symptoms none of which are particularly specific for the condition, often resulting in misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate gastrointestinal symptoms in women with endometriosis and compare their frequency with that of the classical gynaecological symptoms.


METHODS
Systematic exploration of symptoms in a consecutive series of 355 women undergoing operative laparoscopy for suspected endometriosis.


RESULTS
Endometriosis was confirmed by histology in 290 women (84.5%). Bowel lesions were present in only 7.6%. Ninety per cent of women had gastrointestinal symptoms, of which bloating was the most common (82.8%), but 71.3% also had other bowel symptoms. All gastrointestinal symptoms were similarly predictive of histologically confirmed endometriosis. Seventy-six women (21.4%) had previously been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and 79% of them had endometriosis confirmed.


CONCLUSIONS
Gastrointestinal symptoms are nearly as common as gynaecological symptoms in women with endometriosis and do not necessarily reflect bowel involvement.
Maroun
Paulette
P
Department of Endogynaecology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. paulette@paulettemaroun.com.au
Cooper
Michael J W
MJ
Reid
Geoffrey D
GD
Keirse
Marc J N C
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004412:Dysmenorrhea; D004414:Dyspareunia / Q000209:etiology; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult