Postoperative infection and surgical hysteroscopy.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the risk of infection after surgical hysteroscopy.

DESIGN

Prospective observational study.

SETTING

University hospital.

PATIENT(S): One thousand nine hundred fifty-two patients requiring operative hysteroscopy during a 10-year period from January 1990 to January 2000.

INTERVENTION(S): Two thousand one hundred sixteen operative hysteroscopies were performed: 782 fibroma resections, 422 polyp resections, 623 endometrectomies, 90 uterine septa sections, and 199 lyses of synechiae.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Postoperative infectious complications.

RESULT(S): Thirty (1.42%) infections occurred. There were 18 (0.85%) cases of endometritis and 12 urinary tract infections. No other severe infectious complications were reported. The risk for early-onset endometritis was higher after lysis of synechiae compared with endometrectomy, fibroma, or polyp resections. However, the risk for early-onset endometritis was similar for endometrectomy, septa, fibroma, or polyp resections.

CONCLUSION(S): Infectious risk following surgical hysteroscopy is low. No major infectious complications occurred. Risk for early-onset endometritis was higher after lysis of synechiae compared with other procedures.