Tubal assessment tests: still have not found what we are looking for.
Interest in tubal assessment is as old as interest in fertility and infertility. The Fallopian tube is a particularly complex structure and, as such, an ideal method for its clinical assessment is very difficult to obtain. As a result, a number of different methods have been suggested. Some of these methods are more complementary to each other rather than potential substitutes for one another. Some have been used for many years with a clear evidence base for their performance as diagnostic tests. For other, relatively new tests, very little evidence about their performance is available. Research is moving from a purely anatomical approach (are the tubes open or blocked?) to encompassing functional enquiry (are the open tubes functional and, if not, are there interventions with which fertility performance can be improved?). The available evidence, or lack thereof, for the most commonly used tubal assessment tests is reviewed in this paper. Many questions remain, which, despite the increasing success of IVF, will continue to challenge and stimulate specialists and the public, who are interested in ways to maximize spontaneous as opposed to assisted fertility.
Papaioannou
Spyros
S
Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Heartlands Hospital, Bordsley Green East, Bordsley Green, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK. spyros.papaioannou@heartofengland.nhs.uk
Afnan
Masoud
M
Jafettas
John
J
D002404:Catheterization; D005184:Fallopian Tube Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005186:Fallopian Tube Patency Tests; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007047:Hysterosalpingography; D010535:Laparoscopy; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity