Confirmation of the preoperative diagnoses for hysterectomy

Few previous studies have examined the relationship between the preoperative and pathologic diagnoses for hysterectomy. To determine the percentage of preoperative diagnoses that were confirmed by pathologic examination, we analyzed data from the Collaborative Review of Sterilization, a multicenter study of hysterectomies and tubal sterilizations in women aged 15 to 44 years. Data were collected from patient interviews and chart reviews. Of the 1851 women included in this study, 1283 (69%) had abdominal hysterectomies and 568 (31%) had vaginal hysterectomies. Overall, 52% of the hysterectomies were performed for a preoperative diagnosis that could potentially be confirmed by pathologic examination. Pathologic examination actually confirmed the preoperative diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia in 95% of the cases, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in 89%, leiomyomas in 84%, pelvic inflammatory disease in 75%, adenomyosis in 48%, and endometriosis in 47%. Among all of the potentially confirmable diagnoses, 80% were confirmed. The remaining 48% of the women who had hysterectomies had preoperative diagnoses that were not amenable to confirmation by pathology. Most of these were for one of three diagnoses: menstrual bleeding disorders, pelvic pain, or pelvic relaxation. In 47% of these cases, pathologic examination showed leiomyoma or adenomyosis; no abnormalities were found in 38% of these cases.