A Comparison of Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) and Standard Visible White Light Laparoscopy for the Detection of Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a relatively common chronic gynecological condition that affects approximately 10% of all women of reproductive age. It is a pelvic inflammatory disease that is characterized by the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside of the uterine cavity. Typical symptoms of endometriosis include dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, and infertility; the severity of pain associated with this disease often leads to a considerable decrease in quality of life.

The standard treatment for severe pelvic pain and infertility is to surgically remove endometriotic areas. Identifying all endometriotic lesions is paramount to "optimal endometriosis debulking." The inability to see all endometriosis lesions has been thought to be a factor for patients with little or no relief following surgery. Using the Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) method has the potential to improve visualization of endometriosis lesions, assist in debulking and thus, result in improved clinical outcomes.

NBI is a technique that uses a specific narrow wavelength of light to change the normal color contrasts of the endoscopic image and improve detection of neovascularization, which is the pathological feature of endometriosis for both superficial and deeper vascularization. This type of imaging has the potential to offer improved discrimination of lesions, increasing diagnostic yield as well as resulting in more complete debulking.

This study is designed to determine the degree to which NBI improves the detection and diagnosis of endometriosis lesions. Data collected during the study will be used to test the hypothesis that the use of NBI will improve the detection and diagnosis of endometriotic lesions at the time of laparoscopy compared to standard visible white light examination. Furthermore, this study will also determine the impact of the use of NBI compared to use of white light examination on reported severity of pain at 6-weeks, 3-months, and 6 months following surgery.

Hypotheses:

The use of NBI in addition to white light examination will improve the diagnostic yield of endometriotic lesions at the time of laparoscopy compared to only using white light examination.

The use of NBI in addition to white light examination will improve the sensitivity of detecting endometriotic lesions and reduce false positives at laparoscopy compared to only using white light examination.

Secondarily, the use of NBI will be associated with a greater reduction in pain at the 6-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up compared to the use of white light examination alone because of improved lesion identification and debulking.