The relationship between endometriosis and infertility: diagnostic methods and treatment

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2024.302

Lyashenko E.N., Malovichko V.S., Epifanova I.A.
Medical Institute named after S.I. Georgievsky, V.I. Vernadsky Federal Crimean University, Simferopol, Russia

There is an increasing prevalence of infertile women, and one of the main causes is endometriosis, which is detected in half of infertile patients. Endometriosis is a chronic disease characterized by severe pain during menstruation, intercourse, defecation and urination, as well as chronic pelvic pain that interferes with a normal life and prevents pregnancy. The growth of endometrioid tissue outside the uterine cavity occurs in 10% of reproductive-aged women. The exact causes of endometriosis remain unknown; however, relationships with genetics, hormonal status, inflammatory processes and environmental factors have been identified. Both invasive and non-invasive methods such as ultrasound and MRI can be used to diagnose this pathology. Among surgical techniques, laparoscopy together with histological verification is the gold standard. The treatment of endometriosis-associated infertility is the reduction or removal of endometrioid tissue outside the uterine cavity in order to restore the anatomical structure of the pelvic organs using medications and surgery. In case of ineffectiveness of the previous therapies, methods of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are used; the most successful of them is IVF.
Conclusion: The treatment of endometriosis depends to a large extent on the severity of the pathology, therefore, both medical and surgical methods can be used while treating this disease. When standard therapies are ineffective, assisted reproduction is used to treat endometriosis-associated infertility.

Authors’ contributions: Epifanova I.A., Malovichko V.S. – collecting and processing information; Malovichko V.S.,
Epifanova I.A. – writing the text; Lyashenko E.N. – editing the article.
Conflicts of interest: Authors declare lack of the possible conflicts of interest.
Funding: The study was conducted without sponsorship.
For citation: Lyashenko E.N., Malovichko V.S., Epifanova I.A.
The relationship between endometriosis and infertility: diagnostic methods and treatment.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2025; (3): 5-11 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2024.302

endometriosis

infertility

chronic pelvic pain

dyspareunia

ultrasound

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

laparoscopy

assisted reproductive technology (ART)

Full text (in Russian)

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Received 22.11.2024

Accepted 17.03.2025

Elena N. Lyashenko, PhD, Associate Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology No. 2, Order of the Red Banner of Labor Medical Institute
named after S.I. Georgievsky, 295051, Russia, Simferopol, Lenin Boulevard, 5/7, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4350-5020
Victoria S. Malovichko, student, Order of the Red Banner of Labor Medical Institute named after S.I. Georgievsky, 295051, Russia, Simferopol, Lenin Boulevard, 5/7, +7(978)904-04-53, vika.malovichko2001@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5578-6980
Isabella A. Epifanova, student, Order of the Red Banner of Labor Medical Institute named after S.I. Georgievsky, 295051, Russia, Simferopol, Lenin Boulevard, 5/7.

The relationship between endometriosis and infertility: diagnostic methods and treatment

Lyashenko E.N., Malovichko V.S., Epifanova I.A.

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