BACKGROUND: Intrauterine pathologies are the underlying causes of infertility in about 15% of infertile women. Multiple uterine abnormalities may interfere with implantation and can cause spontaneous abortion, such as uterine septum, intrauterine adhesions, endometrial polyps or submucous myomas. Variable diagnostic modalities including hysterosalpingography, transvaginal ultrasound, sonohysterography and hysteroscopy can be used to assess the uterine cavity. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the importance of sonohysterography in correlation with vaginal hysteroscopy in evaluating uterine cavity pathology.
Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was performed on 48 women suspected of having an intrauterine abnormality. Between days 7 and 10 of the menstrual cycle, sonohysterography was done. In the mid proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle for premenopausal women, hyteroscopy was done. Histopathology was our gold standard reference.
Results: The results of sonohysterography and hysteroscopy have been compared with histopathology. We observed that sonohysterography showed 26.7 percent of cases as normal and 73.3% had abnormal finding in form of endometrial polyp 30.3%, increased endometrial thickness 30.3%, submucous leiomyoma 24.3% and intra-uterine septum 15.1%, while hystroscopic findings showed 13.3 percent of cases as normal and 86.7% had abnormal finding in form of endometrial polyp 26.7%, increased endometrial thickness 17.8%, submucous leiomyoma 20.0%, intra-uterine adhesion 13.3% and intra-uterine septum 8.9%.
Conclusions: Sonohysterography is an integral examination procedure in the study of uterine cavity pathology; so it can be provided as a first-line diagnostic modality for uterine abnormality assessment; eliminating the costly need for hysteroscopy which considered more discomfort to women concerned.