Il March 28 of each year is celebrated the World Endometriosis Daya chronic and progressive disease affecting women of childbearing age. The Healthcare Companies of Ferrara participate in the celebration of this anniversary through the work carried out by the Services dedicated to the treatment and cure of this disease.
THE ENDOMETRIOSIS CLINIC OF S. ANNA. At the Cona hospital, theEndometriosis clinic, managed by the Gynecology and Obstetrics Operating Unit (directed by Prof. Pantaleo Greco) and which also involves other specialists from the University Hospital of Ferrara. The service allows multidisciplinary patient management and allows women with pelvic pain or suspected endometriosis to be framed from a diagnostic point of view and, subsequently, to set up a personalized medical and/or surgical therapeutic program. The surgery was inserted in the recent PDTA (Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance Pathway) project for endometriosis in the Emilia-Romagna Region, which was the first to propose a regional clinical network for taking charge of patients affected by this pathology. The goal of the project is to improve the approach to the disease and ensure better treatmentcentralizing the most complex cases in centers with the greatest diagnostic and surgical experience.
Access to the Endometriosis Clinic is possible by booking at the CUP or in the pharmacy or on the toll-free number 800532000 with a referral for a “gynecological visit” from the attending physician, indicating “endometriosis first visit” in the diagnostic query.
THE CONSULTORIO IN VIA BOSCHETTO. Regarding the territorial management of endometriosis, the the first point of access for women who suffer from it is the counseling center in via Boschetto. “Confirmation of a diagnosis of endometriosis – explains the head of the Women’s Health Center of the Local Health Authority of Ferrara, dott. Demetrius Constantine – it can be a factor with a strong impact on a woman’s fertility. We know that this pathology has a high impact on women’s well-being, also from an economic and social point of view in terms of costs and lost working days. The women who turn to our clinic mainly present problems of pelvic pain, chronic or not, and important and disabling dysmenorrhea”.
“Diagnosing endometriosis is complex,” explains Dr. Costantino, who continues: “therefore, if the suspicion of a possible presence of the disease emerges during the visit, the patient will be sent to the dedicated clinics of the reference HUB hospital in Cona, as per the regional protocol“.
The incidence of cases of endometriosis in the province of Ferrara is comparable to the national one. The goal remains to improve listening to pelvic pain problems that may underlie the development of this pathology in order to have an early diagnosis.
THE PATHOLOGY. Endometriosis is one chronic and progressive disease affecting women of childbearing age and is characterized by the presence and proliferation, in abnormal locations, of the endometrium, the tissue normally located inside the uterus and responsible for bleeding during menstrual cycles. The blood produced by the endometrial tissue, located in abnormal locations, so-called “ectopic”, instead of coming out of the external genitalia, collects and generates a local chronic inflammation and lesions represented by cysts, nodules, scarring lesions at the level of the organs of the pelvis or all inside the abdominal cavity which can cause pain which is the cardinal symptom of this pathology. In the most serious cases, this pathology can lead to fertility problems or infertility in 30-40% of cases.
I most common symptoms are pain during menstruation or ovulation, pain during intercourse, chronic pelvic pain, heavy or frequent periods, and infertility not due to other known causes. Other less common symptoms may be bloating and/or abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea, blood in the stool or urine, chronic fatigue. These symptoms, also common to other pathologies, often delay the diagnosis.
Endometriosis can have important repercussions on the psychophysical well-being of women who are affected by it and on their quality of life, as well as limiting their work productivity. Indeed, it is considered one disease of social relevance and has recently been included among the LEAs (Essential Levels of Assistance) in the list of chronic and disabling pathologies, with recognition of the right to exemption from certain specialist services for forms with moderate or severe clinical stages.
In 2021 the global prevalence of endometriosis in Italy is estimated by the Ministry of Health at around 3 million women of reproductive age; in Emilia-Romagna the percentage of female residents between the ages of 18 and 50 affected by full-blown endometriosis is around 25% (approximately 150,000).
In the photo, from left: Pantaleo Greco, Demetrio Costantino