Table 1

 Questionnaire regarding criteria used for assessment of adequacy of endometrial biopsies with opinions of respondents

QuestionYesNoNot answered
Note that not all of the 61 respondents answered every question.
Does your reporting depend on whether the specimen is a pipelle biopsy or curette?29/61 (47.5%)30/61 (49.2%)2/61 (3.3%)
Does your reporting depend on whether the patient is premenopausal or postmenopausal?40/61 (65.6%)18/61 (29.5%)3/61 (4.9%)
Does your report require correlation with parameters such as ultrasonic or hysteroscopic features?35/61 (57.4%)21/61 (34.4%)5/61 (8.2%)
What do you require to classify an endometrial biopsy as adequate (only answer one of these questions)?
    Any endometrial tissue no matter how scant6/61 (9.8%)
    A certain number of superficial endometrial glands6/61 (9.8%)
    Both endometrial glands and stroma, no matter how little12/61 (19.7%)
    Any number of endometrial glands and associated stroma in intact organised tissue17/61 (27.9%)
    A specific number of endometrial glands and associated stroma in intact organised tissue5/61 (8.2%)
    Other: please specify9/61 (14.8%)
Would you classify an endometrial biopsy as inadequate if the following applied?
    No endometrial tissue is present in a premenopausal woman57/61 (93.4%)2/61 (3.3%)2/61 (3.3%)
    No endometrial tissue is present in a postmenopausal woman56/61 (91.8%)4/61 (6.6%)1/61 (1.6%)
    No endometrial tissue is present in a postmenopausal woman and hystero-scopy and ultrasonography show atrophic endometrium46/61 (75.4%)14/61 (23.0%)1/61 (1.6%)
    A few superficial glands without stroma are present in a premenopausal woman47/61 (77.0%)10/61 (16.4%)4/61 (6.6%)
    A few superficial glands without stroma are present in a postmenopausal woman29/61 (47.5%)27/61 (44.3%)5/61 (8.2%)
    Stroma and no glands are present in a premenopausal woman49/61 (80.3%)7/61 (11.5%)5/61 (8.2%)
    Stroma and no glands are present in a postmenopausal woman45/61 (73.8%)11/61 (18.0%)5/61 (8.2%)
    Less than 5 glands with a little stroma are present21/61 (34.4%)30/61 (49.2%)10/61 (16.4%)
Do you think suggested criteria for adequacy/inadequacy would be useful?54/61 (88.5%)5/61 (8.2%)2/61 (3.3%)
Do you think the term “unassessable” would be useful in some cases?26/61 (42.6%)28/61 (45.9%)7/61 (11.5%)
Do you use any term other than inadequate or insufficient?27/61 (44.3%)11/61 (18.0%)23/61 (37.7%)