Endometriosis

Long delays in endometriosis diagnosis are the result of factors spanning from lack of patient and provider awareness to insurance issues. Physicians should consider endometriosis when patients present with abdominal pain, an expert said.

Social media has been a powerful tool in expanding endometriosis awareness to women who might have the condition and to providers who might not be very knowledgeable about it.

Cyclic pain, particularly in the abdomen, that impacts day-to-day life is not normal. Health care providers should always consider endometriosis as a possibility if patients present with such symptoms.

Options for endometriosis management range from surgical excision to medications to general lifestyle modifications, such as diet changes and stress reduction.

Delays in endometriosis diagnosis and care may be due to the normalization of female pelvic pain, lack of endometriosis awareness among both patients and providers, and health care access issues.

Coping methods for acyclic pelvic pain associated with endometriosis vary by age group, with adolescents reporting sleep and music as most helpful and exercise as less helpful, researchers reported in Frontiers Reproductive Health.

Women with endometriosis had higher rates of health care utilization and were significantly more likely to experience upper gastrointestinal and dyspeptic symptoms, according to preliminary data in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Women with vs. without endometriosis using assisted reproductive technology had lower live birth rates, suggesting that uterine receptivity impairments may contribute to infertility mechanisms, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

The prolonged use of certain progestogen hormone drugs — such as medrogestone, medroxyprogesterone acetate and promegestone — increased the risk for developing intracranial meningioma, according to data published in The BMJ.

Pregnancy rates with IVF were similar for women with vs. without endometriosis, but women with more severe disease had significantly lower cumulative pregnancy rates vs. those with less severe disease, researchers reported.