Correlation between cytological and histopathological examination of the endometrium in abnormal uterine bleeding

Abstract

Background: Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is a common problem for which women seek gynecological consultation. Endometrial aspiration cytology (EAC) is an acceptable and valuable diagnostic procedure for screening the endometrial status. Aims: The purpose of our study was to describe the spectrum of endometrial lesions along with their cytomorphological features as well as to compare the results of EAC with histopathology of the endometrial curettings obtained as a result of dilatation and curettage (D and C), in order to assess the value of the former and its shortcomings. Materials and Methods: Endometrial aspiration using a menstrual regulation (MR) syringe and a 4 mm Karman′s cannula was performed just prior to D and C in 100 women presenting with AUB. Smears were reviewed for cytomorphological findings and were correlated with the histopathological findings. These findings were categorized as benign endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia, malignancy and inadequate smears. Results: Age of the patients ranged from 19 to 70 years. In our study, the accuracy in diagnosing benign conditions of endometrium, hyperplasia, and malignancy on aspiration cytology were 93.88%, 96.94% and 96.84%, respectively. Conclusions: Endometrial aspiration is an effective, useful and a minimally invasive procedure. With an experienced cytologist, it can be used routinely for the primary investigation of women with AUB, provided all the points of discrepancies are taken care of.

Keywords

• Abnormal uterine bleeding; endometrial aspiration cytology; endometrial curettings; histopathology; menstrual regulation syringe