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. 2024 Mar 15:46:e-rbgo5.
doi: 10.61622/rbgo/2024AO05. eCollection 2024.

Correlation of pelvic ultrasonography with pubertal development in girls

Francine Zap Bertoncello  1   2 , Mariane Faccin Beust  2 , Cláudia Mendes Tagliari  3 , Liliane Diefenthaeler Herter  3   4 , Cristiane Kopacek  1   5   6
Affiliations

Correlation of pelvic ultrasonography with pubertal development in girls

Francine Zap Bertoncello et al. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to correlate pelvic ultrasound with female puberty and evaluate the usual ultrasound parameters as diagnostic tests for the onset of puberty and, in particular, a less studied parameter: the Doppler evaluation of the uterine arteries.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with girls aged from one to less than eighteen years old, with normal pubertal development, who underwent pelvic ultrasound examination from November 2020 to December 2021. The presence of thelarche was the clinical criterion to distinguish pubescent from non-pubescent girls. The sonographic parameters were evaluated using the ROC curve and the cutoff point defined through the Youden index (J).

Results: 60 girls were included in the study. Uterine volume ≥ 2.45mL had a sensitivity of 93%, specificity of 90%, PPV of 90%, NPV of 93% and accuracy of 91% (AUC 0.972) for predicting the onset of puberty. Mean ovarian volume ≥ 1.48mL had a sensitivity of 96%, specificity of 90%, PPV of 90%, NPV of 97% and accuracy of 93% (AUC 0.966). Mean PI ≤ 2.75 had 100% sensitivity, 48% specificity, 62% PPV, 100% NPV and 72% accuracy (AUC 0.756) for predicting the onset of puberty.

Conclusion: Pelvic ultrasound proved to be an excellent tool for female pubertal assessment and uterine and ovarian volume, the best ultrasound parameters for detecting the onset of puberty. The PI of the uterine arteries, in this study, although useful in the pubertal evaluation, showed lower accuracy in relation to the uterine and ovarian volume.

Keywords: Color doppler ultrasonography; Precocious puberty; Puberty; Ultrasonography; Uterine artery; Women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts to interest: none to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flowchart of inclusion of study participants
Figure 2
Figure 2. Boxplot of mean IP values according to Tanner Stage
Figure 3
Figure 3. Correlations between Tanner Stages, age and ultrasound variables
Figure 4
Figure 4. ROC curve of ultrasound diagnostic tests
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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