Are there different severities of endometriosis?

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    Last Updated: October 25, 2023

    Yes. There are three grading systems commonly in use. According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine guidelines, an individual’s endometriosis can be classified as stages I–IV, as follows: Stage I is minimal, Stage II is mild, Stage III is moderate, Stage IV is severe.[1] Endometriosis can also be graded by the Endometriosis Fertility Index (EFI), which grades endometriosis according to its impact on fertility,[2] or the Enzian classification system, which is designed to describe both the location and severity of endometriosis.[3] The most commonly used system is the American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s, but deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is better described by the Enzian system, and the EFI is much more useful for predicting endometriosis’s impact on fertility.

    References

    1. ^Revised American Society for Reproductive Medicine classification of endometriosis: 1996Fertil Steril.(1997 May)
    2. ^Adamson GD, Pasta DJEndometriosis fertility index: the new, validated endometriosis staging system.Fertil Steril.(2010-Oct)
    3. ^Tuttlies F, Keckstein J, Ulrich U, Possover M, Schweppe KW, Wustlich M, Buchweitz O, Greb R, Kandolf O, Mangold R, Masetti W, Neis K, Rauter G, Reeka N, Richter O, Schindler AE, Sillem M, Terruhn V, Tinneberg HRENZIAN-score, a classification of deep infiltrating endometriosis.Zentralbl Gynakol.(2005-Oct)