The diagnostic value of hysterosalpingography and hysteroscopy in infertility investigation

Four hundred infertile patients had hysterosalpingography and hysteroscopy as part of their infertility workup. A comparison between the findings of these two procedures was carried out to study their diagnostic value in female infertility investigation. It was found that hysterosalpingography was as accurate as hysteroscopy in the diagnosis of normal or abnormal uterine cavities while the nature of the intrauterine filling defects was accurately revealed by hysteroscopy only. It is concluded that hysterosalpingography is an important screening procedure for the diagnosis of normal or abnormal uterine cavities and that hysteroscopy should be reserved only for the confirmation and treatment of intrauterine anomalies discovered by hysterosalpingography. Therefore we look at the two procedures, hysterosalpingography and hysteroscopy, as complementary techniques.