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Endometrial thickness as measured by transvaginal sonography: interobserver variation
B Karlsson1, S Granberg, B Ridell
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Göteborg, Göteborg, Sweden.
Summary
Transvaginal sonography accurately measures endometrial thickness in postmenopausal bleeding. Training inexperienced doctors is crucial to minimize measurement discrepancies and reliably exclude endometrial pathology.
Area of Science:
- Gynecology
- Radiology
- Pathology
Background:
- Transvaginal sonography is vital for diagnosing endometrial pathology in postmenopausal bleeding.
- Endometrial thickness measurement is a key parameter for detecting pathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the reproducibility of endometrial thickness measurements by inexperienced doctors using transvaginal sonography.
- To compare measurements from inexperienced doctors against an experienced sonographer's 'true measurement'.
Main Methods:
- Five inexperienced doctors and one experienced doctor performed transvaginal sonography measurements.
- Endometrial thickness was measured, with the experienced doctor's reading serving as the reference standard.
Main Results:
- Inexperienced doctors had a mean discrepancy of 1.5 mm from the experienced doctor's measurements.
- No endometrial pathology was found via histopathology when endometrial thickness was ≤4 mm, regardless of measurement experience.
- Significant variability existed between measurements made by the inexperienced doctors.
Conclusions:
- Standardized training is essential for inexperienced doctors to improve the accuracy of endometrial thickness measurements.
- Accurate measurements can potentially help exclude endometrial abnormalities in women with postmenopausal bleeding, possibly avoiding invasive procedures like dilatation and curettage (D&C).