Endometrial thickness tests

Endometrial thickening can be said to be a disease. Polycystic ovary, ovarian tumors and endocrine abnormalities may all cause it. To diagnose endometrial thickening, medical examinations are needed. So, what examinations should be done for endometrial thickening?

Relevant inspections include:

(1) Ultrasound examination: Ultrasound examination can understand the size of the uterus, the thickness of the endometrium, the presence of uneven echoes or intrauterine vegetation, the presence of myometrial infiltration and its degree, etc. The diagnostic consistency rate is over 80%. Since many patients with thick endometrium are obese, transvaginal ultrasound has more advantages than transabdominal ultrasound. Since B-ultrasound examination is convenient and non-invasive, it has become the most common examination for diagnosing endometrial thickness and is also a preliminary screening method.

(2) Segmental curettage: It is the most commonly used and most valuable method for diagnosing endometrial thickness. It can not only determine whether it is cancer and whether the endometrial thickness involves the cervical canal, but also distinguish between endometrial thickness and cervical adenocarcinoma, thereby guiding clinical treatment. For patients with heavy vaginal bleeding or continuous bleeding during perimenopause, segmental curettage can also stop bleeding. The specimens of segmental curettage need to be marked separately and sent for pathological examination to confirm or exclude endometrial thickness.

(3) Hysteroscopy: The accuracy of biopsy under direct hysteroscopy is close to 100%. Both hysteroscopy and segmental curettage may cause complications such as bleeding, infection, uterine perforation, cervical laceration, and abortion syndrome. Hysteroscopy also has the risk of water intoxication. There is still controversy over whether hysteroscopy can lead to the dissemination of endometrial thickness. Most current studies believe that hysteroscopy does not affect the prognosis of endometrial thickness.

(4) Cytological examination: Endometrial specimens can be obtained through intrauterine brushing, intrauterine aspiration smear, etc. to diagnose endometrial thickness, but its positive rate is low and is not recommended for routine use.

(5) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): MRI can clearly show the size and range of endometrial lesions, myometrial infiltration, and pelvic and para-aortic lymph node metastasis, thereby more accurately estimating the tumor stage. CT has a slightly lower resolution for soft tissue than MRI, so in hospitals with the necessary conditions, MRI is often used for preoperative evaluation.