Female genital tract congenital malformations and the applicability of the ESHRE/ESGE classification: a systematic retrospective analysis of 920 patients.

PURPOSE: Several classification systems for female genital tract anomalies exist but are of limited use in clinical practice. We, therefore, assessed the applicability and ease of use of the new ESHRE/ESGE classification, using only patient records.

METHODS

This retrospective, single-center, proof-of-principle study systematically analyzed the surgical reports and other hospital records of 920 inpatients and outpatients treated for confirmed female genital tract congenital malformations at a major German university hospital during 2003-2013. Using only this information, a non-expert (medical student) assigned patients to an ESHRE/ESGE class, rating ease of classification based on the time and the number of additional medical records required. Results were verified by an expert gynecologist, who also classified any malformations previously left unclassified. Data analysis used descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

The non-expert successfully classified 859/920 patients (93.4%), rating classification as "easy" for 836/859 (90.9%) and "moderately difficult" for 23/859 (2.5%) patients. The expert gynecologist successfully classified 60 (60/920, 6.5%) of the remaining 61 patients rated as "difficult" by the non-expert, but was unable to accurately subclassify 1 patient (1/920, 0.1%) because the operative report lacked the relevant details. 251/920 (27.3%) patients had associated non-Müllerian anomalies, most frequently renal (20.9%) and skeletal (9.1%) malformations.

CONCLUSIONS

The ESHRE/ESGE classification provides a generally applicable, comprehensive, and adequately specific classification of female genital tract congenital malformations. It offers an efficient basis for communication between non-experts and experts in the field and is, therefore, useful in clinical management and treatment planning.