Skip to main content Accessibility help
×

Online ordering will be unavailable from 17:00 GMT on Friday, April 25 until 17:00 GMT on Sunday, April 27 due to maintenance. We apologise for the inconvenience.

Hostname: page-component-669899f699-swprf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-26T22:57:37.813Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 3 - Pathophysiology of Chronic Endometritis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2025

Roy G. Farquharson
Affiliation:
Liverpool Women’s Hospital
Mary D. Stephenson
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Mariëtte Goddijn
Affiliation:
Amsterdam University Medical Centers
Get access

Summary

This book chapter provides an overview of chronic endometritis (CE), a condition which is increasingly recognized as being associated with recurrent implantation failure, recurrent miscarriage, and fetal demise. The diagnosis of CE is challenging due to the presence of various cell types in the endometrial stroma, making the identification of plasma cells essential. The optimal timing and diagnostic evaluation of endometrial biopsy are still being researched, while immunohistological staining may improve the identification of plasma cells. Hysteroscopy and endometrial culture may also aid in diagnosis and guide antibiotic selection. Although antibiotic treatment has shown improved pregnancy outcomes in cases of CE, there is no established ideal regimen. Overall, this chapter provides valuable information on CE and highlights the need for continued research to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Type
Chapter
Information
Early Pregnancy , pp. 13 - 21
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Greenwood, S. M., Moran, J. J.. Chronic endometritis: morphologic and clinical observations. Obstet Gynecol. 1981;58(2):176–84.Google ScholarPubMed
Cravello, L., Porcu, G., D’Ercole, C., Roger, V., Blanc, B.. Identification and treatment of endometritis. Contracept Fertil Sex. 1997;25(7–8):585–86.Google ScholarPubMed
Farooki, M. A.. Epidemiology and pathology of chronic endometritis. Int Surg. 1967;48(6):566–73.Google ScholarPubMed
Matteo, M., Cicinelli, E., Greco, P., Massenzio, F., Baldini, D., Falagario, T., et al. Abnormal pattern of lymphocyte subpopulations in the endometrium of infertile women with chronic endometritis. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2009;61(5):322–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicinelli, E., Matteo, M., Tinelli, R., Pinto, V., Marinaccio, M., Indraccolo, U., et al. Chronic endometritis due to common bacteria is prevalent in women with recurrent miscarriage as confirmed by improved pregnancy outcome after antibiotic treatment. Reprod Sci. 2014;21(5):640–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allen, H. C., Sharma, P.. Histology, plasma cells. StatPearls; 2022.Google ScholarPubMed
McQueen, D. B., Maniar, K. P., Hutchinson, A., Confino, R., Bernardi, L., Pavone, M. E.. Redefining chronic endometritis: the importance of endometrial stromal changes. Fertil Steril. 2021;116(3):855–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kannar, V., Lingaiah, H. K. M., Sunita, V.. Evaluation of endometrium for chronic endometritis by using syndecan-1 in abnormal uterine bleeding. J Lab Physicians. 2012;4(2):6973.Google ScholarPubMed
Tian, Y., Zeng, Q., Cheng, Y., Wang, X.-H., Cao, D., Yeung, W. S.-B., et al. Follicular helper T lymphocytes in the endometria of patients with reproductive failure: association with pregnancy outcomes and inflammatory status of the endometria. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2023;90(1):e13708.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicinelli, E., Resta, L., Nicoletti, R., Tartagni, M., Marinaccio, M., Bulletti, C, et al. Detection of chronic endometritis at fluid hysteroscopy. J Minim Invas Gynecol. 2005;12(6):514–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnston-MacAnanny, E. B., Hartnett, J., Engmann, L. L., Nulsen, J. C., Sanders, M. M., Benadiva, C. A.. Chronic endometritis is a frequent finding in women with recurrent implantation failure after in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 2010;93(2):437–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Song, D. M., He, Y. F., Wang, Y. X., Liu, Z. Y., Xia, E. L., Huang, X. W., et al. Impact of antibiotic therapy on the rate of negative test results for chronic endometritis: a prospective randomized control trial. Fertil Steril. 2021;115(6):1549–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicinelli, E., De Ziegler, D., Nicoletti, R., Colafiglio, G., Saliani, N., Resta, L., et al. Chronic endometritis: correlation among hysteroscopic, histologic, and bacteriologic findings in a prospective trial with 2190 consecutive office hysteroscopies. Fertil Steril. 2008;89(3):677–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moreno, I., Cicinelli, E., Garcia-Grau, I., Gonzalez-Monfort, M., Bau, D., Vilella, F., et al. The diagnosis of chronic endometritis in infertile asymptomatic women: a comparative study of histology, microbial cultures, hysteroscopy, and molecular microbiology. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018;218(6):602.e116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, Y. Y., Ko, E. Y.-L., Wong, K. K.-W., Chen, X., Cheung, W.-C., Law, T. S.-M., et al. Endometrial microbiota in infertile women with and without chronic endometritis as diagnosed using a quantitative and reference range-based method. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2020;75(3):170–1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Y., Chen, X., Huang, J., Wang, C.-C., Yu, M.-Y., Laird, S., et al. Comparison of the prevalence of chronic endometritis as determined by means of different diagnostic methods in women with and without reproductive failure. Fertil Steril. 2018;109(5):832–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicinelli, E., Matteo, M., Tinelli, R., Lepera, A., Alfonso, R., Indraccolo, U., et al. Prevalence of chronic endometritis in repeated unexplained implantation failure and the IVF success rate after antibiotic therapy. Hum Reprod. 2015;30(2):323–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kitaya, K., Yasuo, T.. Aberrant expression of selectin E, CXCL1, and CXCL13 in chronic endometritis. Mod Pathol. 2010;23(8):1136–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kasius, J. C., Fatemi, H. M., Bourgain, C., Sie-Go, D. M. D., Eijkemans, R. J., Fauser, B. C., et al. The impact of chronic endometritis on reproductive outcome. Fertil Steril. 2011;96(6):1451–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kitaya, K., Tada, Y., Taguchi, S., Funabiki, M., Hayashi, T., Nakamura, Y.. Local mononuclear cell infiltrates in infertile patients with endometrial macropolyps versus micropolyps. Hum Reprod. 2012;27(12):3474–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuroda, K., Horikawa, T., Moriyama, A., Nakao, K., Juen, H., Takamizawa, S., et al. Impact of chronic endometritis on endometrial receptivity analysis results and pregnancy outcomes. Immun Inflamm Dis. 2020;8(4):650–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, Y., Xu, S., Yu, S., Huang, C., Lin, S., Chen, W., et al. Diagnosis of chronic endometritis: how many CD138(+) cells/HPF in endometrial stroma affect pregnancy outcome of infertile women? Am J Reprod Immunol. 2021;85(5):e13369.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kitaya, K., Yasuo, T.. Immunohistochemistrical and clinicopathological characterization of chronic endometritis. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2011;66(5):410–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zolghadri, J., Momtahan, M., Aminian, K., Ghaffarpasand, F., Tavana, Z.. The value of hysteroscopy in diagnosis of chronic endometritis in patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2011;155(2):217–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McQueen, D. B., Perfetto, C. O., Hazard, F. K., Lathi, R. B.. Pregnancy outcomes in women with chronic endometritis and recurrent pregnancy loss. Fertil Steril. 2015;104(4):927–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bouet, P. E., El Hachem, H., Monceau, E., Gariépy, G., Kadoch, I.-J., Sylvestre, C.. Chronic endometritis in women with recurrent pregnancy loss and recurrent implantation failure: prevalence and role of office hysteroscopy and immunohistochemistry in diagnosis. Fertil Steril. 2016;105(1):106–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kitaya, K., Matsubayashi, H., Takaya, Y., Nishiyama, R., Yamaguchi, K., Takeuchi, T., et al. Live birth rate following oral antibiotic treatment for chronic endometritis in infertile women with repeated implantation failure. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2017;78(5):e12719.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Song, D., Feng, X., Zhang, Q., Xia, E., Xiao, Y., Xie, W., et al. Prevalence and confounders of chronic endometritis in premenopausal women with abnormal bleeding or reproductive failure. Reprod Biomed Online. 2018;36(1):7883.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adegboyega, P. A., Pei, Y., McLarty, J.. Relationship between eosinophils and chronic endometritis. Hum Pathol. 2010;41(1):3337.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eckert, L. O., Hawes, S. E., Wolner-Hanssen, P. K., Kiviat, N. B., Wasserheit, J. N., Paavonen, J. A., et al. Endometritis: the clinical-pathologic syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2002;186(4):690–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Punnonen, R., Lehtinen, M., Teisala, K., Aine, R., Rantala, I., Heinonen, P. K., et al. The relation between serum sex steroid-levels and plasma-cell infiltrates in endometritis. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 1989;244(4):185–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lai, Z. Z., Wang, Y., Zhou, W. J., Liang, Z., Shi, J. W., Yang, H. L., et al. Single-cell transcriptome profiling of the human endometrium of patients with recurrent implantation failure. Theranostics. 2022;12(15):6527–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, P. G., Chen, P. Y., Guo, Y. C., Fang, C., Li, T. T.. Interaction between chronic endometritis caused endometrial microbiota disorder and endometrial immune environment change in recurrent implantation failure. Front Immunol. 2021;12:748447.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, Y., Yu, S., Huang, C., Lian, R., Chen, C., Liu, S., et al. Evaluation of peripheral and uterine immune status of chronic endometritis in patients with recurrent reproductive failure. Fertil Steril. 2020;113(1):18796e1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, W. J., Zhang, H., Chen, Z.-Q., Zhang, W., Liu, X.-M., Fang, J.-Y., et al. Endometrial TGF-beta, IL-10, IL-17 and autophagy are dysregulated in women with recurrent implantation failure with chronic endometritis. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2019;17(1):2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dimitriadis, E., Stoikos, C., Stafford-Bell, M., Clark, I., Paiva, P., Kovacs, G., et al. Interleukin-11, IL-11 receptoralpha and leukemia inhibitory factor are dysregulated in endometrium of infertile women with endometriosis during the implantation window. J Reprod Immunol. 2006;69(1):5364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lim, W., Bae, H., Bazer, F. W., Song, G.. Characterization of C-C motif chemokine ligand 4 in the porcine endometrium during the presence of the maternal-fetal interface. Dev Biol. 2018;441(1):146–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, K., Wadhwa, N., Guleria, K., Agarwal, S.. ER, PR and Ki-67 expression status in granulomatous and chronic non-specific endometritis. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2008;34(3):371–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, D., Kimura, F., Zheng, L., Ishida, M., Niwa, Y., Hirata, K., et al. Chronic endometritis modifies decidualization in human endometrial stromal cells. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2017;15:16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McQueen, D. B., Bernardi, L. A., Stephenson, M. D.. Chronic endometritis in women with recurrent early pregnancy loss and/or fetal demise. Fertil Steril. 2014;101(4):1026–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicinelli, E., Matteo, M., Trojano, G., Mitola, P. C., Tinelli, R., Vitagliano, A., et al. Chronic endometritis in patients with unexplained infertility: prevalence and effects of antibiotic treatment on spontaneous conception. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2018;79(1).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xiong, Y. J., Chen, Q., Chen, C., Tan, J., Wang, Z., Gu, F., et al. Impact of oral antibiotic treatment for chronic endometritis on pregnancy outcomes in the following frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles of infertile women: a cohort study of 640 embryo transfer cycles. Fertil Steril. 2021;116(2):413–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vitagliano, A., Saccardi, C., Noventa, M., Di Spiezio Sardo, A., Saccone, G., Cicinelli, E., et al. Effects of chronic endometritis therapy on in vitro fertilization outcome in women with repeated implantation failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Fertil Steril. 2018;110(1):10312e1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×