A stepped-care approach to symptomatic endometriosis management: a participatory research initiative

Paolo Vercellini, Agnese Donati, Ottolini F, Federica Ottolini, Frassineti A, Annalisa Frassineti, Jessica Fiorini, Fiorini J, Nebuloni V, Vanessa Nebuloni, Frattaruolo MP, Maria Pina Frattaruolo, Anna Roberto, Roberto A, Roberto Ratiglia, Paola Mosconi, Edgardo Somigliana
Fertility and sterility · 2018 · vol. 109(6) , pp. 1086–1096 · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.01.037 · PMID:29871796 · W2806866870
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 23 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This participatory research initiative developed and evaluated a stepped-care approach to managing symptomatic endometriosis, involving patients in the process.

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Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the proportion of patients with symptomatic endometriosis satisfied with their medical treatment 12 months after enrollment in a stepped-care management protocol.DesignProspective, single-arm, self-controlled study.SettingAcademic department.Patient(s)A cohort of 157 consecutive patients referred or self-referred to our center for symptomatic endometriosis.Interventions(s)Systematic detailed information process on medical and surgical treatment followed by a shared decision to start a stepped-care protocol including three subsequent medical therapy steps (oral contraception [OC]; 2.5 mg/d norethindrone acetate [NETA]; 2 mg/d dienogest [DNG]) and a fourth surgical step. Stepping up was triggered by drug inefficacy/intolerance.Main outcome measure(s)Satisfaction with treatment was assessed according to a five-category scale (very satisfied, satisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, dissatisfied, very dissatisfied). Variations were measured in pain symptoms with the use of a 0-10-point numeric rating scale (NRS), in quality of life with the use of the Short Form 12 questionnaire (SF-12), and in sexual functioning with the use of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).Result(s)At the end of the 12-month study period, 106 women were still using OC, 23 were using NETA, three were using DNG, and four had undergone surgery. Twenty-one participants (13%) dropped out from the study. In intention-to-treat analysis, excluding five drop-outs for pregnancy desire, the overall satisfaction rate with the stepped-care protocol was 62% (95/152; 95% CI 55%-70%). By 12-month follow-up, significant improvements were observed in all pain symptom scores and in SF-12 physical and mental component summary scores, whereas FSFI scores did not vary substantially.Conclusion(s)Most women with endometriosis-associated pelvic pain who chose a stepped-care approach were satisfied with OC and a low-cost progestin for the treatment of their symptoms. The need to step up to an expensive progestin or surgery was marginal.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Patient-Centered Care Patient Participation Patient Participation Pelvic Pain Adolescent Adult Contraceptives, Oral Contraceptives, Oral Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Patient-Centered Care Patient-Centered Care Patient Satisfaction Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain

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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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