Original Research

Hysterosalpingographic evaluation of human immunodeficiency virus-infected and uninfected infertile women

Dolongo C. Onyangunga, Jagidesa Moodley
South African Journal of Radiology | Vol 24, No 1 | a1767 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajr.v24i1.1767 | © 2020 Dolongo C. Onyangunga, Jagidesa Moodley | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 03 July 2019 | Published: 24 March 2020

About the author(s)

Dolongo C. Onyangunga, Department of Radiology, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Jagidesa Moodley, Women’s Health and HIV Research Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is an outpatient fluoroscopy-guided procedure that evaluates the uterine cavity and fallopian tube patency in infertile women. Its cost-effective use is being challenged with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden in KwaZulu-Natal, which characteristically affects multiple organs.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the HSG findings in a group of HIV-infected and uninfected infertile women.

Method: This was a retrospective study conducted over a 4-year period (2012–2016) in which the HSG images and reports of 178 infertile patients from records of the Radiology Department were re-reviewed for abnormalities of the cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes. Their clinical data and radiological findings were entered into a pre-coded data sheet and analysed.

Results: The frequency of HIV infection amongst patients with infertility was found to be 32.6%. Forty-four patients were on antiretroviral therapy at the time of the HSG examination, whereas three had not yet started treatment. From the 178 HSG reports, 109 (61.2%) were abnormal. Tubal pathologies were the most common abnormalities, accounting for 79 of the 109 cases and was higher in HIV-infected women than in HIV-uninfected women (p = 0.001). Uterine filling defects were demonstrated in 13 of the 109 cases. There were two cases of cervical abnormalities.

Conclusion: The study demonstrated that tubal abnormalities were the most common findings amongst infertile women undergoing HSG and occurred predominantly in HIV-infected patients.


Keywords

hysterosalpingography; infertility; HIV; sexually transmitted diseases; fallopian tubes; radiology.

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Crossref Citations

1. Morphofunctional Organization of the Uterine Tubes in the Conditions of Pathology
M. V. Podolyuk
Ukraïnsʹkij žurnal medicini, bìologìï ta sportu  vol: 5  issue: 4  first page: 44  year: 2020  
doi: 10.26693/jmbs05.04.044