The incidence of uterine leiomyoma and other pelvic ultrasonographic findings in 2,034 consecutive women in a north London hospital

Summary

New generation technologies provide alternative ways of assessing the female pelvis, and provide improved estimates of the incidence of uterine leiomyoma. To determine the incidence of uterine leiomyoma and other incidental findings, the request forms for pelvic ultrasound scan and the scan results of 2,034 consecutive women was reviewed. There were 586 women with scan-detected uterine leiomyoma giving an incidence of 29.9%, although only 3% of the women had clinically suspected leiomyoma. Pain was the leading indication for a pelvic ultrasound scan in women without a uterus, whereas in women with a uterus, bleeding was the leading indication. Other scan findings included ovarian cyst, 11.4% and polycystic ovaries, 7.5%. Uterine leiomyoma was four times more frequent in women over 40 years (odds ratio 4.1, 95% confidence interval, 3.3–5.0). These women were two times more likely to have multiple leiomyomas (OR 2.01, 95% CI, 1.4–2.8) and 30% more likely to have large leiomyomas (OR 1.3, 95% CI, 1.0–2.1).

Keywords:

• Uterine leiomyoma
• fibroids
• ultrasound scan
• incidence on scan