Knowledge of, and treatment strategies for, endometriosis among general practitioners

Moniek van der Zanden, van der Zanden M, Annemiek Nap, Annemiek W Nap, Nap AW
Reproductive biomedicine online · 2016 · vol. 32(5) , pp. 527–531 · doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2016.02.003 · PMID:26947452 · W2275911870
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This study surveyed general practitioners to assess their knowledge of endometriosis and current treatment approaches.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is the most common benign gynaecological disorder. The general practitioner (GP) plays an important role in identifying women at early stages of the disease. This study was conducted to acquire information about awareness and knowledge of endometriosis among Dutch GPs, and clinical strategies taken. A total of 101 GPs completed a questionnaire either by email or at a local education meeting. The GPs annually encounter 2.8 women they suspect of having endometriosis. The estimated time to diagnosis was 65.7 months (39.1 months patient delay and 26.6 months doctors delay); 56.7% of GPs primarily refer to a gynaecologist for consultation or diagnostic tests. The GPs answered on average 16.6 out of 28 knowledge questions correctly. Seventy-six out of 87 GPs stated that they needed further education. The results of this study indicate that if a GP considers endometriosis as a diagnosis, adequate action is undertaken. As only limited numbers of women with endometriosis are encountered in their practice, GPs do not recognize immediately the symptoms that may be caused by endometriosis, leading to diagnostic delay. Our findings may help to set up teaching programmes and awareness strategies for first-line medical professionals to enhance timely diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis General Practitioners Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Adult Endometriosis Female Humans Male Referral and Consultation

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (11)

Cited by (40)

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