Journal

NAC (N-acetylcysteine) treatment or no treatment was offered to 92 consecutive Italian women referred to our university hospital with ultrasound confirmed diagnosis of ovarian endometriosis and scheduled to undergo laparoscopy 3 months later.

According to patients acceptance or refusal, NAC-treated and untreated groups finally comprised 73 and 72 endometriomas, respectively.

After 3 months, within NAC-treated patients cyst mean diameter was slightly reduced (−1.5 mm) versus a significant increase (+6.6 mm) in untreated patients (P = 0.001).

Particularly, during NAC treatment, more cysts reduced and fewer cysts increased their size.

Our results are better than those reported after hormonal treatments.

Twenty-four NAC-treated patients—versus 1 within controls—cancelled scheduled laparoscopy due to cysts decrease/disappearance and/or relevant pain reduction (21 cases) or pregnancy (1 case).

Eight pregnancies occurred in NAC-treated patients and 6 in untreated patients.

We can conclude that NAC actually represents a simple effective treatment for endometriosis, without side effects, and a suitable approach for women desiring a pregnancy