International Expert Consensus Statement on Chronic Endometritis: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Modified...

This study aimed to develop international expert consensus statements on chronic endometritis (CE) through a comprehensive literature review of existing evidence and a modified Delphi approach.

Ten panelists of the Japan Society of Reproductive Medicine Female Reproductive Tract Special Interest Group on CE performed a comprehensive review of the literature and derived statements with related comments on six specific domains of interest on CE. A two-round modified e-Delphi questionnaire was conducted among 31 international experts to evaluate the statements.

Twenty-three out of 24 statements, including 43 detailed items, on epidemiology (associated diseases and risk factors), symptomatology (asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic nature with subtle and nondescript gynecologic manifestations), etiology and pathogenesis (inflammation, infection, and clinical course), microbiology (associated pathogens), diagnosis (histopathology, immunohistochemistry, hysteroscopy, and microbiome analysis), and treatment (antibiotics, surgery, and multidrug resistance) finally reached a consensus. Notably, for the histopathologic diagnosis of CE, a threshold of ≥ 5 endometrial stromal plasma cells/10 high-power fields received an agreement rate of 81%.

This comprehensive literature review and Delphi study provide a real-world clinical perspective on CE from diverse international experts. These consensus statements have the potential to lay a foundation for diagnostic criteria and/or clinical guidelines on CE.