Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Endometriosis as Reasons for Women’s Admission to Outpatient Specialist Care in Poland—A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

This study aimed at presenting selected aspects of outpatient specialist care for women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or endometriosis. The study was carried out using a retrospective analysis of the services provided under Outpatient Specialist Care (AOS) for women, based on data from the National Health Fund (NFZ). The study included data on women with PCOS or endometriosis based on the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) in Poland from 2016 to 2018. The average age of women in the study group with PCOS was 25.31 (±7.02) years and, for those with endometriosis, 38.21 (±10.79). AOS patients with diagnosed PCOS most often made 2–3 visits (34.60%) to a specialist doctor, and those with diagnosed endometriosis most often made one visit (39.95%). Significant differences between patients with PCOS and endometriosis using AOS were found concerning the women’s age, the year, season, place of treatment, type of clinic, mode of admission, number of visits, and their place of residence or macroregion. With increasing age, women with PCOS made more visits to AOS, and women with endometriosis made fewer visits to the AOS specialist.

Correspondence on ‘Red blood cell capacity of modern menstrual products: considerations for assessing heavy menstrual bleeding’ by DeLougheryet al

“…HMB is a common symptom of gynaecological conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) 3 and endometriosis. 4 If HMB diagnosis is improved in a clinical setting, then it might help doctors identify more cases of PCOS and endometriosis, which typically go under-recognised, with long waits for diagnosis 5 Furthermore, there is opportunity for testing of a larger range of products. Different brands could be compared to verify their absorbency claims.…”