title: Echogenic foci in the ovary: are they predictive of endometriosis?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine whether sonographically depicted echogenic foci are more common in the ovaries of women with endometriosis when compared to the ovaries of women who do not have endometriosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two radiologists blinded to the pathologic results reviewed the preoperative pelvic sonograms of consecutive women with a surgical diagnosis of endometriosis between June 2006 and October 2007. Results were compared with the preoperative sonograms of a control group of women without surgical evidence of endometriosis. The presence of echogenic foci in the ovaries and ovarian masses was recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Echogenic foci were present in the ovaries of 33 of 70 women (47%) with endometriosis and in the ovaries of 21 of 76 women (28%) without endometriosis (P = 0.015). When only patients with sonographically normal ovaries were evaluated by excluding endometriomas and other ovarian masses, echogenic foci were present in 8 of 23 women (35%) with endometriosis and in 10 of 42 women (24%) without endometriosis (P = .344).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Echogenic foci are more commonly seen on sonography in the ovaries of women with endometriosis than in those without endometriosis, but this result seems largely due to ovarian endometriomas with echogenic foci in the walls. Echogenic foci are not predictive of endometriosis in women with otherwise sonographically normal ovaries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. wall.darci@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Darci J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Kika M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Dudiak
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mandrekar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010053:Ovary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult