OP14.03: The inter‐ and intraobserver reproducibility of transvaginal ultrasound for pelvic endometriosis

To examine the inter- and intraobserver reproducibility of ultrasound diagnosis of pelvic endometriosis and assess the repeatability of measurements. This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted in our specialist endometriosis centre over a period of 12 months. We included all consecutive women who were scanned by two experienced operators during the same visit to the clinic. Outcomes of interest included the inter- and intraobserver reproducibility of diagnosis and locations of endometriotic lesions and repeatability of measurements of lesion size. We included 50 consecutive women who were referred to our specialist endometriosis service. There was a good level agreement between operator A and operator B in detecting endometriotic lesions (k=0.72). There was a good level of agreement identifying endometriotic nodules (k=0.61) and a very good level of agreement in identifying endometriotic cysts (k=0.88). There was a very good level of agreement in identification of endometriotic bowel nodules (k=0.82). The inter- and intraobserver repeatability of measuring endometriotic cysts was excellent (ICC 0.98). There was good inter-observer measurement repeatability for bowel nodules (ICC 0.88), but this was poor for nodules in the posterior compartment (ICC 0.41). The intraobserver repeatability for nodule size measurements was good for both operators (ICC 0.86). Transvaginal ultrasound is highly reproducible for the detection of pelvic endometriotic lesions, in particular for the detection of endometriotic cysts and endometriotic bowel nodules. Both inter- and intraobserver measurements of endometriotic cysts are highly reproducible. Intraobserver repeatability of nodule measurements is superior to interobserver repeatability. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.