A comparative study of hysterosalpingography and endoscopy/laparotomy in infertile patients.

A comparison of hysterosalpingography (HSG), using Lipiodol ultrafluid as contrast medium, with endoscopy/laparotomy in the evaluation of the tubal function in 124 infertile women is presented. There was agreement between the results of both methods in 73.4% of the patients. The false-negative rate was 2.4% and the false-positive rate was 8.9%. Complications in the form of intravasation were seen in three patients but none of them had any symptoms. The conception rate was 35% in the subgroup of patients with normal HSG. The authors recommend the continuous use of HSG in the overall evaluation of infertile patients. It is recommended to use oil-soluble contrast media because of its high diagnostic accuracy, low frequency of complications and its therapeutic advantages.