Transvaginal sonographic assessment of premalignant and malignant changes in the endometrium in postmenopausal bleeding.

PURPOSE: We explored the value of transvaginal sonography as a screening technique for endometrial abnormalities.

METHODS: Transvaginal sonography was used to evaluate the likelihood that an endometrial abnormality was present in a group of 103 women with postmenopausal bleeding.

RESULTS: Sonographic findings showed a mean endometrial thickness of 6.2 mm in patients with endometrial atrophy, 12.4 mm in patients with simple hyperplasia, 13.4 mm in patients with complex hyperplasia, and 14.1 mm in patients with endometrial carcinoma. There was no statistically significant difference in endometrial thickness measurements between the hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma groups. However, the difference between these groups and the endometrial atrophy group was statistically significant. The mean age was significantly higher for patients with endometrial carcinoma (62 years) than for the patients in the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that transvaginal sonography is a useful method of screening for endometrial abnormalities.