Pregnancy and recurrence rates in infertile patients operated for ovarian endometriosis.

AIM: The study deals with the preoperative ultrasound diagnosis of ovarian endometriosis, postoperative ultrasound reassessment, laparoscopic surgical resolution of ovarian endometriosis, estimation of recurrence risk 12 months after surgery by ultrasound, reappearance of clinical symptoms (such as pain) or second-look laparoscopy, and pregnancy rate 2 years after surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 140 patients with en- dometriosis and infertility admitted to the Iasi "Cuza-Voda" Clinical Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology between the years 2009-2011 were included in the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1-59 cases that refused in vitro fertilization procedures, did not afford in vitro fertilization (IVF) or had minimal endometriosis and young ages and thus a possibility of delaying treatment, and group 2--62 cases which underwent IVF procedures immediately after surgery. RESULTS: No significant differences in the chance of becoming pregnant were found between the two groups (χ2 = 2.06, p = 0.0891, 95% CI); in group 1, 11.86% pregnancies were obtained while in group 2 the pregnancy rate was 11.29%. Based on the nonparametric method of analysis of contingency tables we could estimate the odds of becoming pregnant in the study groups, obtaining an odds ratio (OR = 1.16, CI: 1.04-2.23, 95% CI). This result indicated that in group 1 the odds of becoming pregnant was not significantly higher, and the estimation was made for a confidence interval of 95%. The study had in view the assessment of pregnancies obtained in the study groups and the time interval (number of weeks) from the time of intervention until the occurrence of pregnancy. The Kaplan-Meier analysis enabled the assessment of the mean value and the median value of the number of weeks until becoming pregnant, and these values did not show significant differences (χ2 = 1.55, p = 0.212, 95% CI). CONCLUSIONS: For endometriosis associated with infertility, hormonal suppression does not improve fertility, and therefore surgery followed by controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and intrauterine insemi- nation (IUI), provided the anatomy of the pelvis is preserved in early cases or in vitro fertilization in severe cases is preferred.

[Ultrasound of cervix uteri transvaginal in preterm birth]. / Ecografia endovaginala a colului uterin în diagnosticul nasterii premature.

Premature birth is a social problem due to its implications in the natal mortality and morbidity. This is the reason why it is necessary to establish new methods which could identify pregnant women with high risk of premature birth. Besides the measurable biochemical factors such as fetal fibronectin and salivary estriol, I1-6 sonography is a simple method highly efficient and of reasonable financial costs among all the sonographic means of observing the cervix uteri. The transvaginal sonography is the "golden standard", permitting the most faithful assessment of the pursued parameters--the length of the cervix, the aspect of the internal os (funneling), the cervix index. The experience gathered up to now shows that all of these investigations have a predictive value which is more negative than positive, but when used together they could lead to an improved result.