The role of color Doppler in diagnosis of endometriomas

F Aleem, Fatma A. Aleem, Joseph A. Pennisi, J Pennisi, Khaled Zeitoun, K Zeitoun, M Predanic
Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology · 1995 · vol. 5(1) , pp. 51–54 · doi:10.1046/j.1469-0705.1995.05010051.x · PMID:7850591 · W2000112356
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This study characterized endometrioma vascular patterns using color Doppler, finding that scattered vascularity with flow indices RI > 0.5 and PI > 0.59 may help differentiate them from other pelvic masses.

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize the appearance of the vascular pattern of endometriomas in terms of color Doppler and to verify the role of Doppler flow indices in differentiating endometriomas from other pelvic masses. Twenty patients with suspected endometriosis were referred for evaluation and surgical management of adnexal masses and/or infertility problems. Before surgery, transvaginal sonography was performed using an Ultramark 9 (ATL) Ultrasound system. The color Doppler was used for evaluation of the vascular color distribution. Flow parameters (resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were obtained using pulsed Doppler. A total of 24 masses were identified in the 20 patients studied. Sixteen masses proved to be endometriomas, with a mean size of 3.5 +/- 0.4 cm. Of confirmed endometriomas, 81% had a regular internal surface and 63% showed the characteristic homogeneous low-level echoes filling the cyst. Eleven of 16 (69%) endometriomas showed flow by color Doppler. The flow was characteristically limited, with few spots of vascular color seen in each mass. Cases that showed dense vascularity with color Doppler proved not to be endometriomas. The mean +/- SE of the RI and PI for the endometriomas were 0.59 +/- 0.02 and 0.95 +/- 0.1, respectively. All endometriomas showed an RI of > 0.5 with a range of 0.5-0.74, while the PI was 0.59-1.59. No significant differences between flow indices for endometriomas and other benign cystic lesions were noted. Scattered vascularity, one feature of adnexal endometriomas, may help to differentiate them from other lesions of dense vascular distribution, such as corpora lutea or ovarian neoplasms.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Ovarian Diseases Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Ovarian Cysts Ovarian Cysts Ovarian Cysts Ovarian Diseases Ovarian Diseases Prospective Studies Pulsatile Flow Rheology Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed Vagina Vascular Resistance

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.

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