[Comparison of contrast hysterosonography and transvaginal ultrasonography for uterus imaging].

AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the efficacy of transvaginal sonography and saline infusion hysterosonography, as imaging tools, for the diagnosis of uterine abnormalities.

METHODS

Two hundred seventy five patients were examined using transvaginal sonography (TVS) and saline infusion sonography (SIS), and the results were compared.

RESULTS

Saline infusion sonography was performed in 88.4% of the cases. The most frequent cause of SIS failure was the presence of a stenotic cervix. In case of normal TVS, SIS allowed to visualize a polypoid lesion that was not demonstrated by TVS in 20.4% of the cases (n = 29/142). Saline infusion sonography confirmed the diagnosis of focal lesion suspected after TVS in all cases (n = 36). Finally, the localization of intramyometrial or submucous myomas was improved by SIS: myomas diagnosed by TVS as intramyometrial were demonstrated by SIS to be submucous in 41% of the cases (n = 23/56).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results confirm that saline infusion sonography is a useful complementary tool for transvaginal sonography in the diagnosis of focal endometrial lesions and for the localization of fibromyomas.