[Ultrasound hysterosalpingography with levovist in the diagnosis of tubaric patency].
PURPOSE AIM: To asses the diagnostic value of hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography (HyCoSy) with Levovist(R) as alternative to conventional hysterosalpingography (HSG) in the study of infertility.


METHODS
From September 1988 to March 2000 we evaluated 120 patients with a history of infertility. Thirty patients underwent both HyCoSy and HSG. HyCoSy was performed in the pre-ovulatory phase of mestrual cycle. The tecnique was the same for both examinations. After administering 15 ml contrast medium, we visualized the endometrial cavity, the flow of the contrast medium along the fallopian tubes and its passage into the peritoneum.


RESULTS
In all cases Color-Power Doppler allowed visualization of the uterine cavity and of the spilling of the contrast medium into the peritoneum, yielding information on tube patency that was comparable to that obtained by conventional HSG. In 28 cases (93%) we obtained optimal visualization of the contrast medium at the level of both the endometrial cavity and the fallopian tubes. HyCoSy proved to be superior to conventional HSG in evaluating adjacent myometrial structures, adnexa and degree of follicular maturation, equal to HSG in visualizing the passage of the contrast medium into the peritoneum but inferior to HSG in imaging the fallopian tubes owing to their tortuosity.


CONCLUSIONS
The absence of ionising radiation makes HyCoSy a possible first choice examination in the evaluation of fallopian tube pathology. Conventional HSG should be kept for doubtful cases or for surgical procedures to correct mono- or bilateral obstruction.
Guazzaroni
M
M
Istituto di Radiologia, Università Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
Mari
A
A
Politi
C
C
Guazzaroni
M
M
Remedi
S
S
Mallarini
G
G
Simonetti
G
G
D000328:Adult; D003287:Contrast Media; D005186:Fallopian Tube Patency Tests; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007047:Hysterosalpingography / Q000379:methods*; D011134:Polysaccharides; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography
D003287:Contrast Media; D011134:Polysaccharides; C059891:SHU 508