Introduction: The evaluation of uterine cavity and tubal status is a necessary prerequisite for patients undergoing initial evaluation for infertility and in cases of abnormal uterine bleeding. Sonohysterography (SHG) is a technique for studying uterine cavity and tubal patency. This diagnostic procedure is carried out after injecting sterile saline solution into the uterine cavity under continuous sonographic visualisation. The objective of this comparative clinical study was to evaluate the efficacy of SHG in detecting uterine cavity anomalies in comparison with other methods such as transvaginal ultrasonography (TU) and hysteroscopy (HYS). SHG was also compared with hysterosalpingography (HSG) for the diagnosis of tubal patency. Materials and methods: We studied 550 patients (208 infertile patients and 342 affected by abnormal uterine bleeding in fertile age) aged between 23 and 48 years (mean age 33.5 years). All the women underwent TU, SHG and HYS (with endometrial biopsy) which was considered the gold standard. HSG was performed in 208 infertile patients. Results: TU showed 267 uterine pathologies out of 550 (48.5%) patientswhereas SHG 345 (62.7%) and HYS 360 (65.5%). The sensibility of TU, SHG and HYS were respectively 74.2, 95.8 and 100% whereas the specificity were 92.4, 97.9 and 98.9%. Tubes resulted patent in 135 (64.9%) and 175 (84.1%) out of 208 infertile patients respectively after SHG and HSG. We observed no severe complications among patients undergoing SHG unless mild pelvic pain in 83 (15.1%) cases versus 248 (45.1%) occurred in HYS. The SHG lasted 15 5.6 min (mean SD). Conclusions: SHG allows a precise screening of endometrial and myometrial abnormalities. This technique can help in the formulation of an immediate diagnosis because it can be performed during an abnormal uterine bleeding. Therefore, SHG is a rapid, easy, cheap and non-invasive tool, which is highly recommended for the diagnosis of intrauterine pathologies and for the study of tubal patency.
The efficacy of sonohysterography in the evaluation of uterine cavity and tubal status
MARCI, Roberto;
2001
Abstract
Introduction: The evaluation of uterine cavity and tubal status is a necessary prerequisite for patients undergoing initial evaluation for infertility and in cases of abnormal uterine bleeding. Sonohysterography (SHG) is a technique for studying uterine cavity and tubal patency. This diagnostic procedure is carried out after injecting sterile saline solution into the uterine cavity under continuous sonographic visualisation. The objective of this comparative clinical study was to evaluate the efficacy of SHG in detecting uterine cavity anomalies in comparison with other methods such as transvaginal ultrasonography (TU) and hysteroscopy (HYS). SHG was also compared with hysterosalpingography (HSG) for the diagnosis of tubal patency. Materials and methods: We studied 550 patients (208 infertile patients and 342 affected by abnormal uterine bleeding in fertile age) aged between 23 and 48 years (mean age 33.5 years). All the women underwent TU, SHG and HYS (with endometrial biopsy) which was considered the gold standard. HSG was performed in 208 infertile patients. Results: TU showed 267 uterine pathologies out of 550 (48.5%) patientswhereas SHG 345 (62.7%) and HYS 360 (65.5%). The sensibility of TU, SHG and HYS were respectively 74.2, 95.8 and 100% whereas the specificity were 92.4, 97.9 and 98.9%. Tubes resulted patent in 135 (64.9%) and 175 (84.1%) out of 208 infertile patients respectively after SHG and HSG. We observed no severe complications among patients undergoing SHG unless mild pelvic pain in 83 (15.1%) cases versus 248 (45.1%) occurred in HYS. The SHG lasted 15 5.6 min (mean SD). Conclusions: SHG allows a precise screening of endometrial and myometrial abnormalities. This technique can help in the formulation of an immediate diagnosis because it can be performed during an abnormal uterine bleeding. Therefore, SHG is a rapid, easy, cheap and non-invasive tool, which is highly recommended for the diagnosis of intrauterine pathologies and for the study of tubal patency.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
