Table 1.
Ultrasound | Magnetic resonance imaging | ||
---|---|---|---|
Technical parameters | Voluson E10 (GE medical Systems, Zipf, Austria) | 3 T MR scanner with phased-array pelvic coil (Skyra, Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany) | |
Standard gynecology setting | Slice thickness 3-4 mm with interslice gaps 0.0 mm–1.0 mm | ||
| |||
Preparation | No bowel preparation or contrast gel sonography | Fasting for 4 hours | |
Butylscopolamine 1 mg i.v. | |||
| |||
Technical protocol (standardised for use in every participant) | Transvaginal ultrasound (TV probe 7–9 MHz) | Protocol-part 1 for pelvic DE location | |
(1) 2D T2W sequences in sagittal, axial and oblique plane∗ | |||
Transabdominal ultrasound (curvilinear TA probe 4–7 MHz) | Protocol–part 2 for adnexal lesions | ||
(2) Dixon technique 2D (T1W images incl. with and without fat suppression sequences)§ | |||
(3) DWI in axial plane∗∗ | |||
(4) Postcontrast 2D T1W with fat suppression (i.v. gadolinium)∗∗ | |||
| |||
Imaged area | Pelvis | TVS | Whole pelvis from iliac crests to pubic bone |
Upper urinary tract | TAS | T2-weighted sequences in coronal plane from symphysis up to kidneys |
∗ESUR recommends 2D T2W sequences for pelvic DE [9]. §ESUR recommends 2D T1W sequences for endometriomas with Dixon technique as an alternative to confirm the presence of blood and to rule out a fat-containing lesion (such as dermoids) [9]. ∗∗ESUR recommended as optional sequences for ‘indeterminate' adnexal endometriosis (differential diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease, malignancy) [9]. 2D, two-dimensional; DE, deep endometriosis; DWI, diffusion-weighted imaging; ESUR, European Society of Urogenital Radiology guidelines [9]; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; T1W, T1 weighted; T2W, T2 weighted; i.v. intravenous; TAS, transabdominal ultrasound; TVS, transvaginal ultrasound.