Is training sufficient for ultrasound operators to diagnose deep infiltrating endometriosis and bowel involvement by transvaginal ultrasound?

Rosefort A, A Rosefort, Audrey Rosefort, C Huchon, Huchon C, Cyrille Huchon, Sonia Estrade, Estrade S, S Estrade, A Paternostre, Paternostre A, Bernard JP, J.-P. Bernard, J-P Bernard, A Fauconnier, Arnaud Fauconnier, Fauconnier A
Journal of gynecology obstetrics and human reproduction · 2018 · vol. 48(2) , pp. 109–114 · doi:10.1016/j.jogoh.2018.04.004 · PMID:29654939 · W2797823579
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 12 in-corpus citations
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This study evaluates whether training alone equips ultrasound operators to diagnose deep infiltrating endometriosis and bowel involvement using transvaginal ultrasound.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

ObjectivesTo assess and compare the diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal ultrasonography (TVUS) by trained or untrained ultrasound operators in deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) imaging, for diagnosing DIE and bowel involvement.MethodsThis was an observational study of patients with clinically suspected DIE operated in a reference center. TVUS was performed pre-operatively by a trained or/and untrained ultrasound operator to search for DIE and rectal involvement. During surgery, DIE was diagnosed according to macroscopic and histological criteria. Sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp) and c-index were calculated with 95% confidence intervals for trained and untrained operators, if TVUS results were significantly predictive of DIE and rectal involvement at p<0.05.Results115 patients were included: 100 (87%) had DIE and 34 (29.6%) had bowel involvement. TVUS was performed by a trained ultrasound operator for 70 patients and by an untrained one for 56 patients. When performed by a trained operator, TVUS significantly predicted DIE with a Se of 58% (95% CI, 46-70), a Sp of 87.5% (95% CI, 63-100) and a c-index of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.59-0.87). TVUS performed by an untrained operator was not significantly predictive of DIE (p=0.58). Rectal involvement was significantly predicted by TVUS performed by a trained operator with a Se of 40% (95% CI, 23-59), a Sp of 93% (95% CI, 86-100) and a c-index of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.56-0.77). None of the untrained ultrasound operators diagnosed a bowel involvement.ConclusionTVUS is not sufficient to diagnose DIE and bowel involvement, in particular when performed by untrained ultrasound operators.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosisdie_deep_infiltrating

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Health Personnel Intestines Intestines Ultrasonography Ultrasonography Adult Clinical Competence Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Health Personnel Humans Intestines Rectum Rectum Rectum Sensitivity and Specificity

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 (40)

Cited by (12)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-07-27T06:15:28.040536+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:19:49.066213+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK