VP62.02: Evaluation of sonographic changes after one year of combined oral contraceptive continuous regimens in endometriosis patients

The aim of our study was to analyse the sonographic changes of endometriosis patients who have received combined oral contraceptive continuous regimens (COCCR) for at least 1 year of duration. A total of 566 endometriosis patients were evaluated. A specialised ultrasound was performed searching for ovarian endometriomas (OE) and intestinal, torus, retrocervical, vaginal and vesical deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). To be eligible, patients had to undergo a sonographic examination prior to initiation of treatment and a second one after a year with COCCR. The impact of the treatment was measured in terms of the decrease in size of OE and DIE nodules. Finally, 94 patients were analysed. Expressed as mean+/-standard deviation (SD) or n(%). The mean age was 38.4+/-4.6 years. At the start, the sonographic evaluation showed, 68 (72.3%) patients with OE, 39 (41.5%) affected by intestinal DIE, 45 (47.9%) by torus DIE and 24 (25.5%) by retrocervical DIE. Four cases of vaginal and 3 of vesical DIE were reported. A significant decrease in number of patients with OE was noted (pre-treatment: n = 68 (72.3%); post-treatment: n = 50 (53.2%) [p < 0.0001]). Moreover, a decrease in size of persistent OE was objectified (pre-treatment mean 45.6 +/-3.86mm; post-treatment 26.6 +/-4.39mm [p < 0.0001]). All DIE lesions were still visible in the follow-up. A significant decrease in the size of torus (pre-treatment 23.6 +/- 1.75mm; post-treatment 18.8 +/- 1.19mm [p < 0.0091]) and retrocervical DIE (pre-treatment 20.2 +/- 1.93mm; post-treatment 14.4 +/- 1.55mm [p < 0.025]) was noted. Nevertheless, intestinal (pre-treatment 25.4 +/- 1.54mm; post-treatment 23.4 +/- 1.50mm [p = 0.34]), vaginal and vesical DIE remained stable during follow-up. Our research demonstrates a significant reduction of endometriosis sonographic features after COCCR at 1-year-follow-up. The improvement is more evident in OE compared with DIE. More studies with a larger sample and a longer follow-up, are warranted.