Improving the diagnosis of endometriosis in Asia-Pacific: Consensus from the Asia-Pacific Endometriosis Expert Panel for Endometriosis

Chih-Feng Yen, Chih‐Feng Yen, Yen CF, Mukhri Hamdan, Pattaya Hengrasmee, Hengrasmee P, Huang Z, Zhongwei Huang, Kyungah Jeong, Jeong K, Dao LA, Le Anh Dao, Lertvikool S, Srithean Lertvikool, Mogan S, Surita Mogan, Bhaskar Pal, Pal B, Kanadi Sumapradja, Sumapradja K, Meng‐Hsing Wu, Wu MH, Meng-Hsing Wu, Maria Isidora Margarita Yap‐Garcia, Yap-Garcia MIM, Maria Isidora Margarita Yap-Garcia, Donovan C, Catherine Donovan, Christopher S, Stephen Christopher, Mee‐Ran Kim
International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics · 2023 · vol. 163(3) , pp. 720–732 · doi:10.1002/ijgo.15142 · PMID:37837343 · W4387640186
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⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

The Asia-Pacific Endometriosis Expert Panel identified diagnostic delays caused by awareness, treatment, and healthcare system factors and proposed initiatives to improve early clinical diagnosis and patient outcomes.

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Abstract

Endometriosis should be diagnosed as early as possible in the continuum of care; but substantial delays of approximately 6-8 years between symptom onset and endometriosis diagnosis have been widely reported. With the purpose of improving the prompt diagnosis of endometriosis, the Asia-Pacific Endometriosis Expert Panel (APEX) sought to address the reasons for diagnostic delays across the region, and formulate a multi-pronged approach to overcoming these challenges. In the first instance, clinical diagnosis is preferable to surgical diagnosis, in order to facilitate earlier empirical treatment and minimize the negative sequelae of undiagnosed/untreated disease. There should be a high clinical index of suspicion in women presenting with cyclical symptoms, including those involving extrapelvic organs. Diagnostic delays in Asia-Pacific countries are attributable to a variety of patient, physician, and healthcare factors, including poor awareness, normalization/trivialization of pain, individual/cultural attitudes toward menstruation, default use of symptom-suppressing treatments, misdiagnosis, and a lack of diagnostic resourcing or adequate referral pathways in some areas. Suggested initiatives to reduce diagnostic delays are geared toward improving public awareness, improving clinical diagnostic skills, streamlining multidisciplinary care pathways for timely referral, updating and implementing diagnostic guidelines, lobbying policymakers and insurance companies for endometriosis support, and increasing efforts to bridge data gaps and perform further research in this field. Formulating specific action plans and gathering traction are the responsibility of individual countries within local parameters. The APEX group advocates for any initiatives and policies that support the unmet needs of women with endometriosis, to improve patient experience and outcomes.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

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. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (67)

Cited by (5)

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