General practitioners and endometriosis: Level of knowledge and the impact of training.

OBJECTIVE: To assess general practitioners' (GPs') knowledge of and practice in the diagnosis and management of endometriosis following the publication of updated French national guidelines in 2017. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, anonymous, epidemiological survey of 102 GPs in the Picardie region of France. RESULTS: Only 25% of the GPs considered that they knew enough about endometriosis for their routine clinical practice. This proportion was 58.9% amongst GPs with an university diploma in gynaecology and 31.4% amongst those participating in continuing medical education courses on gynaecology. Only 19.6% of the GPs were aware of the updated French national guidelines. With regard to five main suggestive, localizing signs of endometriosis, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhoea and infertility were mentioned as being of diagnostic value by 55.9%, 37.3% and 43.1% of the GPs, respectively; in contrast, functional urinary tract disorders and painful defecation were not mentioned very often. GPs with a qualification in gynaecology and those participating in continuing medical education in gynaecology knew more about treating endometriosis. CONCLUSION: In the Picardie region of France, GPs appear to be only moderately aware of how to manage endometriosis; this probably contributes to the diagnostic delay associated with this condition. GPs with a university diploma in gynaecology and those participating in continuing medical education in gynaecology appeared to have a better grasp of the subject. Continuing medical education on this topic should therefore be promoted and expanded.

Deep infiltrating endometriosis with sacral plexus involvement: Improving knowledge through human cadaver dissection.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to assess a human cadaver model of sacral plexus dissection for learning about deep innervation in the female pelvis, and the latter's relationship with deep infiltrating endometriosis. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study. Eight residents in obstetrics and gynecology were tested before and after a lecture on innervation of the female pelvis and a cadaver dissection class. Standardized cadaver dissection was used to identify the sacral nerve roots S2 to S4, superior and inferior hypogastric plexuses, hypogastric nerve, and splanchnic nerves. RESULTS: The residents' level of knowledge improved significantly after a one-hour lecture (p = 0.9.10-5) and after a cadaver dissection class (p = 0.6.10-6). The improvement was significantly greater for the dissection class (p = 0.0003). All the pelvic nerve structures were identified in all but one of the cadavers and had similar measurements. A vascular anatomical variant was observed in one case. CONCLUSION: A human cadaver model is of value for learning about deep pelvic innervation and the latter's relationship with deep infiltrating endometriosis. The reproducibility and safety of cadaver dissection might improve surgical skills.

AMeTHYST (AMbulatory HYsterectomy surgery). Feasibility of minimally invasive outpatient hysterectomy, a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVES: Hysterectomy, one of the most frequent surgical procedures in women, is commonly performed by a minimally-invasive approach (laparoscopic or vaginal) as recommended by the French guidelines. The French authorities aim to have 66 % of all procedures performed as same-day surgery in 2020. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and identify factors associated with success or failure of same-day surgery for minimally-invasive hysterectomy. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a prospective double-center observational study at the Caen and Amiens University Hospitals between September 2017 and May 2018 including hospitalized patients managed for a laparoscopic or vaginal hysterectomy. Patients were younger than 70 and have no major medical problems. The patients were placed into a "fit" or "unfit" group according to their Post Anaesthetic Discharge Scoring System (PADSS) score 6 h post-surgery. All the patients were asked to complete an assessment questionnaire during their hospitalization. RESULTS: Of the 50 included patients, half were placed in the "fit" group. A history of laparotomy was significantly predictive of failure of same-day discharge (p = 0.003) but not uterine size or Body Mass Index (BMI). The main barriers for discharge were pain (p<0.001) and postoperative nausea/vomiting (PONV) (p<0.001). Four patients, all in the "unfit" group, had Clavien-Dindo grade 1 postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Same-day minimally invasive hysterectomy is a feasible and safe procedure. Factors associated with same-day hysterectomy failure were laparotomy, pain and postoperative nausea/vomiting.

Pregnancy Rates After Surgical Treatment of Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis in Infertile Patients With at Least 2 Previous In Vitro Fertilization or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Failures.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the postoperative probabilities of pregnancy in patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) and ≥2 previous in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) failures. DESIGN: Retrospective study using data prospectively recorded in the North-West Inter Regional Female Cohort for Patients with Endometriosis (CIRENDO) database. SETTING: University tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Infertile patients under the age of 43 years, having undergone ≥2 previous IVF or ICSI failures, who were surgically managed for DIE. INTERVENTIONS: Complete excision of DIE. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The pregnancy rate after surgery was assessed. One hundred and four infertile patients had surgery in 7 different centers participating in the database. Seventy-seven women intended to get pregnant postoperatively. Four patients who got pregnant by oocyte donation were excluded, resulting in a sample of 73 women. The mean patient age was 31.9 years (standard deviation [SD], 4.1), and the mean length of history of infertility was 48.4 months (SD, 26.5). Stage III and IV endometriosis were recorded in 83.6% of patients. The mean postoperative follow-up was 46.6 months (SD, 20.5). The postoperative pregnancy rate was 43.8% with a mean time from surgery to pregnancy of 11.1 months. 21.8% of pregnancies were spontaneous, 31.2% were obtained by IVF, 21.8% by frozen embryo transfer, 18.7% by IVF-ICSI, and 3.1% by intrauterine insemination. Multivariate analysis revealed that ovarian surgery, age ≥35 years old, and stage II endometriosis was associated with the probability of conception. CONCLUSION: Infertile women with ≥2 IVF-ICSI failures may be referred for surgery as it appears related to reasonable postoperative pregnancy rates, particularly when endometriomas surgery is either not required or not performed. Surgery for DIE does not routinely delay conception, as it usually occurs during the year following surgery.