The Pipelle endometrial suction curette: How useful is it in clinical practice?

The Pipelle endometrial sampler is gaining popularity as an alternative to formal dilatation and curettage (D and C). This study demonstrates that the Pipelle reduces the number of D and Cs required to assess the endometrium by 65%. This has significant benefits in terms of patient safety and cost. If an inadequate sample is obtained, which occurs most commonly in the postmenopausal patient, there may be a temptation to ascribe this to the presence of an atrophic endometrium. This study, however, finds a significant chance of an underlying carcinoma in these cases. Thus whereas the Pipelle sampler has clinical usefulness when a sample sufficient for histological analysis is obtained, an equivocal result must lead to further investigation.