Objective

To determine the prevalence of endometriosis in Hispanic women undergoing laparoscopy for benign gynecologic conditions.

 

Design

Cross sectional study.

 

Setting

A county-based tertiary academic hospital.

 

Patient(s)

Two hundred and sixty-nine Hispanic women undergoing laparoscopic surgery for benign gynecologic indications.

 

Intervention(s)

Video recording of laparoscopic surgeries in 100 prospectively enrolled subjects

(VIDEO subjects)

 

Main Outcome Measure(s)

The prevalence of endometriosis based on operative report, histopathology and video review of laparoscopy.

 

Result(s)

In all subjects, prevalence of endometriosis was 29% (77/269) by operative report and 22% (58/269) by histopathology. The prevalence was 50% (46/92) in the patients who underwent video. Agreement between the operative note (OPNOTE) and histopathology report (PATH) was 87.7% but in 9.7% of patients the OPNOTE was positive but the Path was negative due to an absence of surgical biopsy in the majority of cases.In seven cases (2.6%) the OPNOTE was negative but the PATH report was positive and in five of these the video also showed gross endometriosis.

 

Conclusion(s)

The prevalence of endometriosis in Hispanic women undergoing laparoscopy for benign gynecologic diseases at a tertiary referral center varied significantly depending on how the diagnosis was made. Attention to the accurate documentation of surgical findings may assist in  accurately defining the prevalence of endometriosis.

 

Key Words: endometriosis, Hispanic, prevalence, laparoscopy, video