Correlation between the AAGL 2021 classification and the occurrence of perioperative complications in endometriosis
Diego Raimondo1, Antonio Raffone2, Manuela Maletta3
1Division of Gynaecology and Human Reproduction Physiopathology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Objective:
The AAGL 2021 classification assesses intraoperative surgical complexity using a four-stage scale based on lesion size and location. Despite its potential utility, no data currently assess its correlation with perioperative complication. This study aimed to evaluate whether the AAGL classification correlates with perioperative complications in women undergoing surgery for endometriosis.
Methods:
This was a single center, observational, retrospective case-control study. From a prospectively collected database, all consecutive reproductive-aged patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic surgery for endometriosis from January 1st, 2019 to December 31st, 2021 were included in the study. Exclusion criteria were: patients aged <18 years, partial removal of endometriotic lesions. The primary outcome was to assess the correlation between the AAGL score and perioperative complications. Secondary outcomes included evaluating the association between AAGL, Enzian and r-ASRM staging system, and perioperative complications, as well as identifying independent predictors of complications.
Results:
Among 282 patients, 80 (28.4 %) experienced complications. Higher AAGL scores and stages III-IV were significantly associated with complications (p = 0.045, p = 0.022). Enzian B3 correlated with complications (21 % vs. 6.7 %, p = 0.006), while Enzian A, C, and r-ASRM showed no differences. However, in multivariate analysis, only lower preoperative Hb (OR 0.73; 95 % CI 0.58-0.92; p = 0.008), longer operative time (OR 1.00; 95 % CI 1.00-1.01; p = 0.023), rectosigmoid surgery (OR 2.29; 95 % CI 1.03-5.08; p = 0.043), and Enzian B3 (OR 3.32; 95 % CI 1.40-7.91; p = 0.007) were confirmed as independent risk factors.
Conclusion:
The findings of this study showed that higher AAGL scores or stages were not associated with an increased risk of perioperative complications. However, further studies are necessary to confirm these preliminary results.
