Three-dimensional transrectal ultrasonography in adolescent patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic value of 3-dimensional transrectal ultrasonography (3D-TRS) in adolescent patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

METHODS: Ovarian follicle number, ovarian volume, ovarian stromal area, total ovarian area, and stromal area to total area ratio (S/A) were evaluated using 3D-TRS in 75 amenorrheic, oligomenorrheic, or asymptomatic virgin patients and 25 healthy controls. Serum biochemical markers of PCOS were assayed during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in menstruating patients and controls, and on a randomly selected day in amenorrheic patients.

RESULTS: When assessing the delicate structure of the ovary in virgin patients, 3D-TRS was convenient, accurate, specific, sensitive, and more reliable overall than transabdominal ultrasonography. Ovarian stromal area and S/A ratio were significantly greater in patients with PCOS than in controls, and also in the patients who had ultrasonically diagnosed polycystic ovaries without clinical or biochemical evidence of PCOS. The S/A ratio was the studied variable most significantly correlated with androgen levels.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that, in adolescent patients, 3D-TRS combined with transabdominal ultrasonography can improve the precision of the diagnosis of PCOS. The S/A ratio may become the ultrasonographic diagnostic marker for PCOS.