Clinical features of gastrointestinal symptoms in women with recurrent course of deep infiltrative endometriosis

Background . Endometriosis is a chronic multifactorial disease that affects more than 170 million women of reproductive age worldwide, causing pelvic pain syndrome, dyspareunia, and symptoms of gastrointestinal dyspepsia, thereby having a negative impact on the psycho-emotional state of patients. Despite a wide range of medical and surgical treatments, the relapse rate reaches 50%, which is a global economic and social problem. The purpose of the study . To determine the spectrum of clinical features of the gastrointestinal tract in women with recurrent deep infiltrative endometriosis. Materials and methods . The study included 113 patients of reproductive age who underwent surgical treatment of common forms of external genital endometriosis. The main group consisted of 32 patients who underwent repeated surgical treatment due to relapse of deep infiltrative endometriosis, the comparison group — 51 patients without relapse of the disease one year after the primary operation, the control group — 30 patients of reproductive age who did not suffer from external genital endometriosis. An analysis of the somatic anamnesis was carried out, as well as questionnaire data on pelvic pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and functional bowel disorders in patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis, depending on the status of relapse of the disease. Results and discussion . Patients of the main group suffered significantly more often from functional diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (71.9% (23/32) versus 51.3% (26/51) in the comparison group; p = 0.006, the spectrum of which was represented by chronic gastritis and irritable bowel syndrome. In the main group, the clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal dyspepsia before surgical treatment correspond to a moderately severe degree of 17.706 (4.601) points. A significantly higher initial level of functional intestinal disorders was established during subjective assessment in the main observation group: 17.706 (4.601) points versus 10.66 (3.61) points in the comparison group; p=0.001. In women of the main observation group, one month after surgical treatment, there was a significant decrease in subjective assessment of the severity of functional intestinal disorders (from 17.71 (4.60) points to 9.86 (4.73) points; p = 0.001). The integral VAS pain score in the main group was 6.65 (1.53) points, which is significantly higher than in patients in the comparison group without relapse of the disease. Conclusions . The identified clinical and anamnestic predictors of the recurrent course of deep infiltrative endometriosis will allow us to formulate a personalized approach at the pre- and postoperative stage, aimed at preventing relapse of the disease, which will directly improve the psycho-emotional state and quality of life of women.