European society of urogenital radiology (ESUR) guidelines: MR imaging of pelvic endometriosis

摘要

Endometriosis is a common gynaecological condition of unknownaetiology that primarily affects women of reproductiveage. The accepted first-line imaging modality is pelvic ultrasound.However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasinglyperformed as an additional investigation in complex cases and for surgical planning. There is currentlyno international consensus regarding patient preparation, MRIprotocols or reporting criteria. Our aim was to develop clinicalguidelines for MRI evaluation of pelvic endometriosis basedon literature evidence and consensus expert opinion. Thiswork was performed by a group of radiologists from the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR), experts ingynaecological imaging and a gynaecologist expert in methodology.The group discussed indications for MRI, technicalrequirements, patient preparation, MRI protocols and criteriafor the diagnosis of pelvic endometriosis on MRI. The expertpanel proposed a final recommendation for each criterionusing Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine(OCEBM) 2011 levels of evidence.