Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Oct;23(10):219-223.
doi: 10.1007/s11934-022-01107-8. Epub 2022 Sep 1.

A Review of Urinary Tract Endometriosis

Amanda K Sherman  1 , Lara S MacLachlan  2
Affiliations
Review

A Review of Urinary Tract Endometriosis

Amanda K Sherman et al. Curr Urol Rep. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose of review: To describe the presenting signs and symptoms of patients with urinary tract endometriosis (UTE), appropriate workup, and to review medical and surgical therapies for symptom palliation and definitive management.

Recent findings: UTE is a condition that clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for, as symptoms can be easily misdiagnosed from other causes. Surgical resection of implants appears to offer safe and durable symptom relief. Urinary tract endometriosis may present with symptoms overlapping with interstitial cystitis, nephrolithiasis, bladder overactivity, or recurrent urinary tract infections, and may or may not be cyclical in nature. Cyclical gross hematuria is considered pathognomonic, though final diagnosis must be made after a pathologic review. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, consequences such as silent renal loss from asymptomatic obstruction may result. After the diagnosis is made, initial therapy can be undertaken with hormonal treatment to palliate symptoms (most commonly in the form of combined oral contraceptives), followed by surgical resection for a definitive treatment option.

Keywords: Bladder endometriosis; Gross hematuria; Pelvic pain; Ureteral obstruction; Urinary tract endometriosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance
    1. Acién P, Velasco I. Endometriosis: a disease that remains enigmatic. ISRN Obstet Gynecol. 2013;2013: 242149. - DOI
    1. Kołodziej A, Krajewski W, Dołowy Ł, Hirnle L. Urinary tract endometriosis. Urol J. 2015;12(4):2213–7. - PubMed
    1. Peterson CM, Johnstone EB, Hammoud AO, Stanford JB, Varner MW, Kennedy A, et al. Risk factors associated with endometriosis: importance of study population for characterizing disease in the ENDO Study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013;208(6):451.e1-11. - DOI
    1. Practice bulletin no. 114: management of endometriosis. Obstet Gynecol. 2010;116(1):223–36. - DOI
    1. Treloar SA, Bell TA, Nagle CM, Purdie DM, Green AC. Early menstrual characteristics associated with subsequent diagnosis of endometriosis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010;202(6):534.e1-6. - DOI

Substances

LinkOut - more resources