Age-Specific Frequencies and Characteristics of Ovarian Cysts in Children and Adolescents

Objective: The aim of the present study was to document ovarian cyst frequency and characteristics as well as distribution of these parameters with respect to age in children and adolescents. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 1009 girls between the ages of 5-18 years who presented to our pediatric emergency department (PED) with pelvic pain and therefore underwent pelvic ultrasound examination between June 2011 and May 2014. Results: In total, 132 of 1009 girls (13.1%) were identified as having ovarian cysts >= 1 cm in diameter. The frequency of ovarian cysts was found to be 1.8% (6/ 337) in children aged 5-9 years and 18.8% (126/ 672) in those aged 10-18 years. All the cysts detected in children aged 5-9 years were small (< 3 cm) and simple with age-specific frequencies ranging between 1.5-2.7%. With the onset of adolescence, ovarian cyst frequency started to increase with age and ranged between 3.8-31.3% throughout adolescence. Age of peak ovarian cyst frequency was 15 years with a rate of 31.3%. Large ovarian cysts(> 5 cm) were identified in 19 adolescents (15.1%) with most occurring during middle adolescence. Of the 19 adolescents, five were found to have cyst-related significant ovarian pathologies including cystadenoma (n=3) and ovarian torsion (n= 2). Conclusion: In children aged 5-9 years, ovarian cysts were infrequent and small (< 3 cm). Peak ovarian cyst frequency was detected at the age of 15 years. All patients diagnosed with cyst- related significant ovarian pathologies were adolescents having a cyst > 5 cm in diameter with a complex appearance in most.