Estimation of the Endometriosis Fertility Index prior to operative laparoscopy

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONCan the Endometriosis Fertility Index (EFI) be estimated accurately before surgery?SUMMARY ANSWERThe EFI can be estimated accurately based on mere clinical/ultrasound information, with some improvement after adding data from diagnostic laparoscopy.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYThe EFI is a validated clinical instrument predicting the probability of pregnancy after endometriosis surgery without the use of ART. Being an end-of-surgery-score, it implies the decision for operative laparoscopy to be made in advance —hence, its role in the pre-surgical decision-making process remains to be established.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONSingle-cohort prospective observational study in 82 patients undergoing complete endometriosis excision (between June and December 2016). Two methods were used to estimate the final EFI: type A based on non-surgical clinical/ultrasound findings only, and type B based on the combination of non-surgical clinical/ultrasound findings and diagnostic laparoscopy data. To calculate EFI type A, an algorithm was created to translate non-surgical clinical/imaging information into rASRM (revised American Society of Reproductive Medicine) —and EFI points. EFI type A and type B estimates were assessed for their clinical and numerical agreement with the final EFI score. Agreement was defined as clinical if EFI scores were within the same range (0–4, 5–6, 7–10), and numerical if their difference was ≤1.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSAll 8...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research