title: Combining B-mode ultrasound with pulsed wave Doppler for the assessment of tubal patency.
abstract: This study was conducted to determine whether the additional use of pulsed wave Doppler improves the diagnostic capacity in assessing tubal patency by hysterosalpingo contrast sonography (HyCoSy). A total of 210 women with a history of infertility were included in this study. HyCoSy was performed after intrauterine injection of Echovist 200. For the assessment of tubal patency B-mode scanning and pulsed wave Doppler ultrasound were performed in the proximal and distal tubal segments. With the combined sonographic procedure 297 tubes (74%) were rated patent, 35 (8%) incompletely obstructed and 70 (18%) completely obstructed. A total of 252 tubes were additionally examined by laparoscopy for reference purposes. Concordant results for both methods were found in 92% of tubes, nine had been rated false negative and 10 tubes appeared to have been rated false positive. The combined sonographic specificity was found to be 85% with a sensitivity of 95%. Peritubal adhesions detected by laparoscopy were found to be the reason for false positive sonographic results in 60% of cases. In conclusion, the combined B-mode and pulsed wave Doppler examination appears to be a non-invasive and low-cost test for the assessment of tubal patency, which should be performed during diagnostic work-up for infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, University of Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kleinkauf-Houcken
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hüneke
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lindner
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Braendle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018617:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed