P. Schwarzler et al., TRANSVAGINAL SONOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF TH E UTERINE CAVITY AND THE FALLOPIAN-TUBES WITH ECHO-ENHANCING AGENTS, Ultraschall in der Medizin, 18(1), 1997, pp. 8-13
Citations number
41
Categorie Soggetti
Radiology,Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging",Acoustics
Aim: The recent development of hysterocontrastsonography (HyCoSy) for
assessing tubal patency may provide an alternative to current methods,
which are either invasive (laparoscopy and dye) or involve exposure t
o radiation and require a radiology department (hysterosalpingography)
. Method: Following the introduction of an intrauterine ballon cathete
r, the contrast agent (Echovist(R)) is slowly injected into the cavity
and tracked using ultrasound as it passes through the tubes. The tech
nique is well tolerated as an outpatient method, and takes about 15 to
20 minutes to perform. Results: In a clinical trial with infertile wo
men we compared the results of HyCoSy to laparoscopy and dye. In 90 ou
t of 108 tubes investigated the results agreed - equivalent to a sensi
tivity of 88% and a specificity of 82%. Three false negative findings
on the one hand and 15 false positive findings on I-he other represent
a negative predictive value of 96% and a positive predictive value of
58%. In approximately 50% of patients, this outpatient procedure caus
ed little or no pain, and in 40%, moderate pain. Only a small part of
the investigated group (8%) complained about serious discomfort; in tw
o cases (3%) the procedure was discontinued because of pain. Conclusio
n: HyCoSy is a reliable and simple method to provide preliminary infor
mation about tubal patency. It may be carried out at an early stage of
the algorithm to investigate the infertile couple, and may so lead to
more rapid and efficient treatment.