The role of transvaginal ultrasound in a referral military hospital.

In an attempt to overcome some of the difficulties encountered with transabdominal ultrasonography we report on 55 patients who underwent 88 transvaginally directed sonograms. In 24 patients in whom a diagnosis of an early intrauterine pregnancy was made, the mean crow-rump length (CRL) was 10.7 mm (range, 3 to 27). In six patients (25%) the CRL was 5 mm or less. These data suggest that the use of transvaginally directed sonography may permit an earlier diagnosis of pregnancy than the abdominal approach does. This earlier diagnosis should allow the exclusion of ectopic pregnancy in many of the patients at risk for this disorder.