Summary
Professor Tom Bourne is Chair in Gynaecology in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction within the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College and Hon Consultant Gynaecologist at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital London. He is visiting Professor at KU Leuven in Belgium. He is an authority on the use of ultrasound in gynaecology and the management of early pregnancy complications.
He trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St Mary’s Manchester and Gloucester. He also worked on the neonatal unit in Oxford before becoming research fellow to Professor Stuart Campbell and finally lecturer/senior registrar at Kings College Hospital, University of London. At Kings for five years he ran the gynaecological ultrasound and ovarian cancer screening service where he introduced the use of vaginal ultrasonography into the clinic. In 1994 he moved to Sahlgrenska Hospital at the University of Göteborg in Sweden on a Swedish Medical Research Council visiting scientist fellowship. In Sweden he initiated research into ovarian function and extended his experience of gynaecological ultrasound with Seth Granberg. However the main purpose of this move was to train in laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery. He wrote his Ph.D. in 1996 on the diagnosis of ovarian and endometrial carcinoma. Following this he furthered his surgical training working with Olav Istre in Norway and Jan Deprest in Belgium before returning to the UK.
He was appointed Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at St George's University of London in1996, and in 2005 he became Reader in acute gynaecology and gynaecological ultrasonography. At St George's Hospital he ran the diagnostic and surgical aspects of the early pregnancy assessment unit, the gynaecological ultrasound unit (including rapid access) and the acute gynaecology service. He was made FRCOG in 2003. He was conferred the title of Reader in acute gynaecology and gynaecological ultrasonography at St George's University of London in 2005. After collaborating for many years as the "London-Leuven" research group he was appointed Visiting Professor, at KU Leuven in 2007 and he has medical registration to practice in Belgium. In September 2008 he left St George's and moved to Imperial College NHS trust at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in North-West London in 2009 before later moving over to an academic position with Imperial College London.
He is an honorary member of the Brazilian Society of Ultrasound. In 2014 he was elected honorary fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). In 2016 he was awarded honorary membership of the Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM). He became visiting professor at the Capital University in Beijing in 2019. In 2021 he was awarded honorary membership of the Hungarian Society for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
He has edited seven books including the classic textbook Dewhurst, and published over 430 papers in international journals. He has been invited to speak and chair at numerous international meetings on subjects relating to the use of ultrasound and diagnostics in gynaecology as well as aspects of medical regulation. His h-index is 102 with Google Scholar and 68 with Web of Science.
He is immediate past-president of the International Society for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ISUOG). He is a medical advisor and trustee of the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. He is the immediate Past-President of the Association of Early Pregnancy Units (AEPU). He is past chair of the early pregnancy clinical study group (CSG) at the RCOG.
He has been an expert advisor to NICE on early pregnancy complications. In 2012 he was a member of the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU) panel that developed new guidelines to diagnose pregnancy failure, subsequently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In 2014 he was also a member of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) consensus group to develop new guidelines for the classification and management of ovarian cysts and the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. He has been part of the American College of Radiologists (ACR) committee to develop new guidelines for the diagnosis and management of ovarian masses including cancer. This guidance was published in 2020. In 2021 has was part of the European Society for Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) consensus group on the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
In 1990 he founded the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) with Professor Dirk Timmerman and Professor Lil Valentin. He is now CEO of IOTA and sits on the other large international trials such as the International Endometrial Assessment trial (IETA) trial. He was PI for the Diagnosis of Miscarriage (DOM) study published in the BMJ. and the IMPACT trial that examined the impact of complaints and investigations procedures on the psychological wellbeing of doctors (with the BMA). He is also PI for the EPOS trial on the impact of early pregnancy events, ABPEP on serum biomarkers in early pregnancy and PIEPE examining the psychological impact of early pregnancy complications. Professor Bourne can be seen speaking about the diagnosis of miscarriage trial - published in the BMJ and the main paper from the study can be read by here. In 2016 he became Director of Early Pregnancy Research at the new Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research - a joint centre between Imperial College and the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick.
His current research interests relate to miscarriage, the management and psychology of early pregnancy complications, early pregnancy embryonic growth, caesarean section scars, the diagnosis of ovarian cancer and the characterization of ovarian pathology. He has an interest in medical regulation and burnout (e.g. the IMPACT study). He has ongoing collaborations with staff at the universities of Leuven, Birmingham, Buckingham, Prague, Sydney and others.
Professor Bourne can be seen speaking about the IMPACT research project on over 3000 physicians examing the prevelance of burnout amongst obstetricians and gynaecologists in the UK, and how this relates to physician welfare and defensive medical practice. This paper can be read here. He was a founder member of the RCOG "supporting our doctors" task force.
His current research interests include diagnostics in gynaecology and in particular the classification of ovarian pathology, early pregnancy and clinician burnout.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Bobdiwala S, Saso S, Verbakel JY, et al., 2019, Diagnostic protocols for the management of pregnancy of unknown location: a systematic review and meta-analysis, BJOG - An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol:126, ISSN:1470-0328, Pages:190-198
Farren JA, Jalmbrant M, Ameye L, et al., 2016, Post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression following miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy: a prospective cohort study, Bmj Open, Vol:6, ISSN:2044-6055
Bourne T, Vanderhaegen J, Vranken R, et al., 2016, Doctors' experiences and their perception of the most stressful aspects of complaints processes in the UK: an analysis of qualitative survey data, Bmj Open, Vol:6, ISSN:2044-6055
Timmerman D, Van Calster B, Testa A, et al., 2016, Predicting the risk of malignancy in adnexal masses based on the Simple Rules from the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis group, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol:214, ISSN:1097-6868, Pages:424-437
Preisler J, Kopeika J, Ismail L, et al., 2015, Defining safe criteria to diagnose miscarriage: prospective observational multicentre study, British Medical Journal, Vol:351, ISSN:0959-535X, Pages:1-10
Bourne T, Wynants L, Peters M, et al., 2015, The impact of complaints procedures on the welfare, health and clinical practise of 7926 doctors in the UK: a cross-sectional survey, Bmj Open, Vol:5, ISSN:2044-6055
Van Calster B, Van Hoorde K, Valentin L, et al., 2014, Evaluating the risk of ovarian cancer before surgery using the ADNEX model to differentiate between benign, borderline, early and advanced stage invasive, and secondary metastatic tumours: prospective multicentre diagnostic study, British Medical Journal, Vol:349, ISSN:0959-535X, Pages:1-14
Kaijser J, Sayasneh A, Van Hoorde K, et al., 2014, Presurgical diagnosis of adnexal tumours using mathematical models and scoring systems: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Human Reproduction Update, Vol:20, ISSN:1355-4786, Pages:449-462
Doubilet PM, Benson CB, Bourne T, et al., 2013, Diagnostic Criteria for Nonviable Pregnancy Early in the First Trimester, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol:369, ISSN:0028-4793, Pages:1443-1451
Kirk E, Bottomley C, Bourne T, 2014, Diagnosing ectopic pregnancy and current concepts in the management of pregnancy of unknown location, Human Reproduction Update, Vol:20, ISSN:1355-4786, Pages:250-261
Naji O, Wynants L, Smith A, et al., 2013, Predicting successful vaginal birth after Cesarean section using a model based on Cesarean scar features examined by transvaginal sonography, Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol:41, ISSN:0960-7692, Pages:672-678
Van Calster B, Abdallah Y, Guha S, et al., 2013, Rationalizing the management of pregnancies of unknown location: temporal and external validation of a risk prediction model on 1962 pregnancies, Human Reproduction, Vol:28, ISSN:0268-1161, Pages:609-616
Ameye L, Timmerman D, Valentin L, et al., 2012, Clinically oriented three-step strategy for assessment of adnexal pathology, Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol:40, ISSN:0960-7692, Pages:582-591
Van Holsbeke C, Van Calster B, Bourne T, et al., 2012, External Validation of Diagnostic Models to Estimate the Risk of Malignancy in Adnexal Masses, Clinical Cancer Research, Vol:18, ISSN:1078-0432, Pages:815-825
Abdallah Y, Daemen A, Kirk E, et al., 2011, Limitations of current definitions of miscarriage using mean gestational sac diameter and crown-rump length measurements: a multicenter observational study, Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol:38, ISSN:0960-7692, Pages:497-502
Pexsters A, Daemen A, Bottomley C, et al., 2010, A new crown-rump length size curve based on over 3500 pregnancies., Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol, Vol:35, Pages:650-655
Timmerman D, Van CB, Testa AC, et al., 2010, Ovarian cancer prediction in adnexal masses using ultrasound-based logistic regression models: a temporal and external validation study by the IOTA group., Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol, Vol:36, Pages:226-234
Timmerman D, Ameye L, Fischerova D, et al., 2010, Simple ultrasound rules to distinguish between benign and malignant adnexal masses beforesurgery: prospective validation by IOTA group, Bmj
Bottomley C, Bourne T, 2009, Diagnosis and management of ovarian cyst accidents, Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Vol:23, ISSN:1521-6934, Pages:711-724