Recent advances in understanding and managing adenomyosis.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic search methodology or original empirical human data
PubMed 30918629 · doi:10.12688/f1000research.17242.1
What was done
This narrative review summarizes current concepts regarding the epidemiology, pathogenesis, imaging diagnosis (transvaginal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging), and clinical management of adenomyosis.
What was found
No quantitative data or effect sizes are reported in the abstract. The authors describe an epidemiological shift from diagnosing adenomyosis primarily at hysterectomy in multiparous women over age 40 to identifying it non-invasively in younger women presenting with pain, abnormal uterine bleeding, infertility, or no symptoms. The abstract notes that consensus on imaging and histopathological classification is currently lacking, pathogenesis across different phenotypes remains incompletely explained, and frequent coexistence with endometriosis and fibroids confounds clinical evaluation.
Why it matters
It highlights the changing clinical paradigm toward conservative diagnosis in reproductive-aged patients and emphasizes the need for unified reporting criteria to improve clinical outcomes and fertility care.
Limits
The abstract presents a narrative review with no original data, sample size, or systematic search methodology. Analysis is inherently constrained by the lack of standardized diagnostic criteria and high rates of confounding comorbid pelvic pathologies.
Cited by
- supports Adenomyosis is characterized by ectopic endometrial tissue growing within the muscular wall of the uterus.