According to the latest guidelines, people who show symptoms of endometriosis, such as ultrasound, should be provided so that they can receive treatment sooner.

Endometriosis can take years to diagnose, because it used to mean waiting for the surgical procedure to be diagnosed.

This condition can cause severe pain, infertility and heavy periods - when cells similar to those of the lining of the uterus grow in other parts of the body. In addition to women, endometriosis can affect other people with uterus and a small number of men.

The Guide to Survival Evidence for Endometriosis, published on Saturday by the Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Ranzcog), recommends the use of transvaginal ultrasound as a frontline investigation, or, if not appropriate, a pelvic MRI.

These recommendations are based on emerging evidence that more cases can be diagnosed and with increasing accuracy.

This guide replaces Ranzcog's first clinical practice guideline released in 2021. The “Life” guide means recommendations for updates based on the latest research and emerging evidence.

Historically, the gold standard for diagnosing endometriosis is to absorb tissue from patients during surgery and review it under a microscope. However, studies from various groups have shown that ultrasound can detect deep-invasive endometriosis with "excellent" sensitivity.

But this method does have limitations in detecting surface diseases, she said.

While traditional ultrasounds examine the uterus of the uterus and ovaries, the new Medicare program for endometriosis ultrasound will be used starting in November, which will look for endometriosis tissue in certain places outside the uterus, which includes ligaments that fix the uterus to the inside of someone’s pelvis.

"Medicare program numbers are expected to make the appearance more thorough and thorough evaluation," Druitt said. But to get more endometriosis patients to access it, more ultrasound examiners will need to be certified.

Providing ultrasound to diagnose endometriosis means that patients do not have to endure long waiting lists for surgery before starting treatment, whether it is weight loss or persistent pain.

The guide recommends “starting treatment and diagnosis in parallel ways, so there is absolutely no reason to delay treatment, that’s the problem.”

The guidelines will also support GPs initiating first-line hormone therapy while ongoing diagnostic investigations and provide primary care-specific resources to improve access to major evidence-based recommendations.

"Having clear, evidence-based tools such as quick reference guides and flowcharts will become game consoles for primary care," said Professor Danielle Mazza, director of the general practice department at Monash University, and a member of the guide development team.

The guideline now also recommends that physiotherapy and psychological care be useful for patients with pelvic pain and endometriosis.

The latest guidelines also say that patients with endometriosis require information about cancer risk in the reproductive organs and should be informed that “although their ovarian and endometrial cancer increases may increase, the increase in absolute risk is very low compared to the absolute risk in the general population; and may reduce the risk of cervical cancer.”

Many other inflammatory conditions, such as Crones or rheumatoid arthritis, are also associated with a slightly higher risk of cancer, but slightly higher in terms of endometriosis, said Druitt, “You need a lot of data to prove that some of the facts that the association tells us about absolute risks are still small.”

New resources have also been developed for patients.

Alexis Wolfe, consumer contact for the Guide Development Group, said the resources will provide information for people to help them advocate themselves and make decisions with care providers more confidently.

When surgical treatment of two different types of endometriosis (ablation or resection) is involved, the guidelines state that “the existing evidence does not support a technique except for endometrioma (cyst on the ovary)” and the evidence is determined to be “low.”

This guide strongly recommends resection rather than ablation to treat endometrioma.

Jess Taylor, chairman of the Australian Alliance for Endometriosis (ACE), said having a life guide is "critical" because endometriosis has many new research activities. She said it has historically been underresearched compared to other conditions.

Despite supportive life guidelines for health professionals and patients, it is disappointing that Ranzcog does not allow consultations to be opened to the public, Taylor said.

“We asked for a formal department consultation…we followed this many times and, disappointingly, it wasn’t important to the guide,” Taylor said.

A Ranzcog spokesman said they "had conducted industry consulting over a three-week period and approved the extension where possible. Ace required longer extensions, which was impossible due to release schedules.

The spokesman said the timelines were agreed with the Health Department, which was funder.

“We are now working with ACE and the Ministry of Health to ensure that ACE’s feedback can be incorporated into the next update.”

Syl and Lesley Freedman, co-founder’s internal activity, said the guide “reflects a deeper shift toward more patient-oriented, patient-centric care.”

"We are very happy to see that hysterectomy does not cure endometriosis or subadrenalinism," the two said in a joint statement.

"However, we are disappointed that the 2025 guideline still cannot explain that pregnancy is not a cure or cure Endo. This harmful myth is still going on."