Three‐Dimensional Ultrasound Evaluation of Pelvic Floor Muscle Contraction in Women Affected by Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis: Application of a Quick Contraction Scale

Alessandro Arena, Eugenia Degli Esposti, Laura Cocchi, Benedetta Orsini, Jacopo Lenzi, Simona Del Forno, Diego Raimondo, Aly Youssef, Elisa Montaguti, Renato Seracchioli
Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine · 2022 · vol. 41(12) , pp. 2973–2979 · doi:10.1002/jum.15996 · PMID:35532292 · W4229371360
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 5 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study utilized 3D ultrasound to develop a 4-point pelvic floor contraction scale, finding reduced muscle function in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis compared to controls and ovarian endometriosis.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Using transperineal 3D/4D ultrasound, we evaluated the prevalence of the various categories of a 4-point pelvic contraction scale among women affected by ovarian endometriosis (OE), deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), and healthy controls. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted on nulliparous women scheduled for surgery to remove endometriosis, and nulliparous healthy volunteers who did not show any clinical or sonographic signs of endometriosis, who served as controls. Patients were subjected to 3D/4D transperineal ultrasound obtaining measurements of the antero-posterior diameter (APD), both at rest and during maximal pelvic floor muscle (PFM) contraction (PFMC). The difference of APD from rest to maximal PFMC was then calculated as percent change from baseline (ΔAPD) and patients were thus categorized using the 4-point pelvic contraction scale. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-four patients were considered for the study. Mean difference in APD between relaxed state and maximal PFMC was 23.3 ± 7.9% (range 2.4-40.0) in controls, 20.5 ± 9.0% (range 0.0-37.3) in patients with OE, and 14.6 ± 10.4% (range 0.0-37.1) in patients with DIE (F-test = 19.5, P-value < .001). A significant negative correlation was found between the contraction scale and dyspareunia (rs = -0.17, P = .032), and it appeared to be stronger among patients with DIE (rs = -0.20, P = .076). CONCLUSIONS: PFM function in endometriotic patients could be assessed reliably through this 4-point scale. The rapid identification of women suffering from PFM dysfunction, along with deep dyspareunia, could enable gynecologists to offer them additional therapies, such as PFM rehabilitation.

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Condition tags

dyspareuniaendometriosisdie_deep_infiltrating

MeSH descriptors

Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Ovarian Neoplasms Ovarian Neoplasms Urinary Bladder Diseases Urinary Bladder Diseases Female Female Humans Humans Muscle Contraction Muscle Contraction Muscle Contraction Pelvic Floor Pelvic Floor Pelvic Floor Prospective Studies

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 (18)

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