The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) publishes today its new clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and management of Endometriosis - a chronic condition that causes severe pelvic pain and reduced fertility for millions of women worldwide.
The original guidelines to help clinicians to apply best care for Endometriosis were first produced in 2008 and then updated in 2014 with a patient led version. This new 3rd, entirely updated version of the guidelines also expands on important issues such as the clinical evidence on Endometriosis in adolescents and postmenopausal women. It outlines the diagnostic process, challenges laparoscopy and histology as the overall gold standard diagnostic tests, and it evaluates surgical, medical and non-pharmacological treatments.
Over two years, the chair of the Guideline Development Group Prof Christian Becker from the Endometriosis CaRe Centre, Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, at the University of Oxford and Dr Nathalie Vermeulen, Senior Research Specialist at ESHRE, who led the search strategy, worked closely together with international medical and epidemiological experts in the field as well as patient representatives.
This wide-ranging collaboration helped create the guidelines for diagnosis, treatments for pain and infertility, management of disease recurrence, asymptomatic or extrapelvic disease, endometriosis in adolescents and postmenopausal women, prevention and the association with cancer.
The impact of these new guidelines on the general physical, mental and social well-being of the Endometriosis community could be huge.
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Prof Christian Becker commented: “Endometriosis is a very common, but still highly underrepresented disease with often devastating outcomes for the patients and their families. Together with my colleagues we hope that the new ESHRE Endometriosis Guideline will assist both patients and healthcare professionals in their decision making and understanding of the condition.” |
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Dr Nathalie Vermeulen, revealed the possible benefits to patients: “There is no one-fits-all management option for endometriosis. The guideline and its lay version provide patients with unbiased information on the different management options available and on best practice when established based on scientific data” |
Patient representative Kathleen King – a member of the guideline development group – said the document would become “an essential part of the toolkit” for those living with endometriosis symptoms. “I encourage all those with an interest in endometriosis to make full use of the guidelines,” added King, a medical scientist and former chair of the Endometriosis Association of Ireland. “Patients can feel confident in using the guidelines to initiate discussions with their healthcare professionals, and their healthcare team have a guide based on current best practice and scientific information.”
The full guidelines can be found here
For further information and interview requests please contact: Laura Rossignoli, Communications Manager, ESHRE, laura@eshre.eu or M: +32 499 923 249