Abstract
Research question
Is a decrease in dysmenorrhoea after suppressive hormonal therapy a marker of the
endometriosis phenotype and of greater disease severity?
Design
Retrospective observational cohort study conducted in a French university hospital,
between January 2004 and December 2019. Non-pregnant women aged younger than 42 years,
who tested for dysmenorrhoea relief after suppressive hormonal therapy before surgery,
and who had histological confirmation of endometriosis, were included. The comparisons
were carried out according to the results of the suppressive hormonal test.
Results
Of the 578 histologically proven endometriosis patients with preoperative pain symptoms,
the rate of dysmenorrhoea decrease after suppressive hormonal therapy was 88.2% (n = 510). These patients had a higher incidence of deep infiltrating endometriosis
(DIE) intestinal lesions (45.7% [233/510] versus 30.8% [21/68], P = 0.01) and an increased rate of multiple DIE lesions (two or more) (72.8% [287/394]
versus 56.4% [22/39], P = 0.02). After multivariate analysis, decrease of dysmenorrhoea after suppressive
hormonal therapy remained significantly associated with the severe DIE phenotype (adjusted
OR 3.9, 95% CI 2.0 to 7.6, P < 0.001).
Conclusion
In women with endometriosis, a decrease of dysmenorrhoea after suppressive hormonal
therapy is associated with the DIE phenotype and is a marker of greater severity.
KEYWORDS
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Biography
Dr Louis Marcellin graduated from the University Paris Descartes, Faculty of Medicine. He became Associated Professor in 2017 within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at Cochin University Hospital, Paris, France, headed by Professor Charles Chapron.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 11, 2023
Accepted:
January 6,
2023
Received in revised form:
December 27,
2022
Received:
July 7,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2023 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
