ABSTRACT
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder. The criteria
used to establish the diagnosis remain controversial. The 1990 National Institutes
of Health conference guidelines required a combination of both chronic anovulation
and clinical/or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism. These criteria were revised
in 2003 at the Rotterdam European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology/American
Society of Reproductive Medicine consensus workshop to include ultrasound polycystic
ovarian morphology (PCOM) as one of the two of three criteria necessary for establishing
the diagnosis of PCOS. The inclusion of PCOM sparked a controversy as it broadens
the population of women who meet the criteria for PCOS and allows for the creation
of two phenotypically different patient populations who previously would have been
excluded. The ultrasound findings, which are consistent with PCOM, include an assessment
of follicle number and/or ovarian volume. As technology advances with two-dimensional
and three-dimensional ultrasound, our ability to discretely evaluate independent portions
of the ovary may help to redefine the criteria of PCOM and thus standardize for clinical
and research interests a more specific descriptor for PCOM.
KEYWORDS
PCOS - ultrasound - Rotterdam - ovarian stroma - polycystic ovarian morphology - PCO
- PCOM
REFERENCES
Diagnostic criteria for polycystic ovary syndrome: towards a rational approach . In: Dunaif A, Givens J, Haseltine F Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Boston, MA; Blackwell
Scientific 1992: 377-384
Misty.B.Porter@Hitchcock.org
