Hysterosalpingo-Contrast Sonography With Four-Dimensional Technique for Screening Fallopian Tubal Patency: Let's Make an Exploration.

Study Objective: To evaluate the practicability of transvaginal 4-dimensional (4D) hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography (HyCoSy) using SonoVue for screening of fallopian tube patency in infertile females.

Design: Prospective observational study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).

Setting: The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University.

Patients: 204 infertile females who underwent 4D-HyCoSy between July 2015 and June 2016.

Intervention: 4D-HyCoSy was performed to acquire dynamic images. If any of the fallopian tubes was not developing during the process, the procedure was repeated promptly, to exclude false-positive outcomes. Subsequently, tube status was confirmed by traditional 2-dimensional (2D)-HyCoSy. Finally, the results of the 4D-HyCoSy and the final 2D-HyCoSy were compared.

Measurements And Main Results: A total of 204 patients (408 tubes) were evaluated ith 4D-HyCoSy followed by 2D-HyCoSy. Of these 408 tubes, 385 demonstrated the same status on 4D-HyCoSy and 2D-HyCoSy, for an agreement rate of 94.4%.

Conclusion: A 4D technique combined with HyCoSy is a practicable screening method for assessing fallopian tube patency. It overcomes the disadvantages of 2D-HyCoSy and has a relatively high degree of agreement with the more difficult 2D-HyCoSy technique.