Antonella Ferraiolo

Transcervical selective salpingography: a diagnostic and therapeutic approach to cases of proximal tubal injection failure *

OBJECTIVE Evaluation of selective salpingography for diagnosis and treatment of tubal injection failure during hysterosalpingography (HSG). DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Genoa (Italy)--tertiary care. PATIENTS One hundred eighty infertile women with unilateral or bilateral proximal tubal injection failure during HSG were submitted to the procedure. INTERVENTION Under fluoroscopy, a 4.5-F nylon catheter (3-F tip) was inserted into the ostium with or without the aid of a J-shaped, coaxial, angiographic guide wire, and 2 to 3 mL of contrast medium were injected. The procedure lasts 20 to 30 sec/tube. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Of 155 tubal ostia, 145 (94.2%) were catheterized. RESULTS Of the 146 catheterized tubes, 110 (75%) were rendered patent. Of the others, 21 (14.3%) presented hydrosalpinx or distal obstructions, and isthmic obstruction was present in 5 (3.4%). Patency of at least one tube was achieved in 82 (81.2%) of the 101 catheterized women; 8 conceived spontaneously and 11 after gamete intrafallopian transfer to the recanalized tube. CONCLUSIONS During HSG, selective salpinography can be performed when proximal injection failure is observed to determine its cause or to restore patency.

Endometrial morphology after 12 months of vaginal oestriol therapy in post-menopausal women.

The endometrial effect of long-term vaginal oestriol (E3) therapy for urogenital atrophy was assessed in 23 post-menopausal women. Hysteroscopic and histological examinations were performed in each patient to assess endometrial atrophy before treatment and after 6 and 12 months of therapy (0.5 mg vaginal E3 for 21 days, then 0.5 mg twice weekly). The primary atrophic picture was confirmed at the end of the 6th month in all but one of the patients. In one case, the histology showed an abnormal stromal reaction with no epithelial alterations. Treatment was continued and after the 12th month complete atrophy was confirmed both hysteroscopically and histologically in all patients. Efficacy as regards vaginal and urogenital complaints was good. Our results demonstrate that in women with endometrial atrophy effective and well-tolerated treatment with vaginal E3 can be safely continued for up to 12 months.

Comparison of different ovarian stimulation protocols for gamete intrafallopian transfer in patients with minimal and mild endometriosis

Three different stimulation protocols were tested in patients affected by stage I and II endometriosis with no other causes of infertility, and scheduled for the gamete intrafallopian transfer technique. In two protocols a gonadotropin hormone-releasing hormone analog was used. The analog was started 6 months before stimulation in the former and along with the exogenous gonadotropin in the latter. Patients receiving only gonadotropin served as controls. Sixty patients were selected for this study; 55 reached laparoscopy. Whereas patients receiving either gonadotropin alone or simultaneous analog and gonadotropin had similar pregnancy rates, this was much higher in the patients undergoing a prolonged, medically induced hypoestrogenism. Prolonged analog pretreatment before ovarian stimulation may give better chances of success in endometriosis patients undergoing assisted reproduction techniques.

The duration of pituitary suppression by means of intranasal gonadotropin hormone-releasing hormone analogue administration does not influence the ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation and success rate in a gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) program

The aim of the study was to compare the ability to prevent endogenous luteinizing hormone interferences, ovarian response, and success rate between two groups of patients undergoing GIFT procedures and treated with the same stimulatory protocol but with a different timing in the administration of the gonadotropin hormone-releasing hormone analogue (GnRH-a). The former underwent a concomitant administration of gonadotropin and analogue; the latter started stimulation only after the achievement of complete hypogonadotropinism. The analogue was always given intranasally and stimulation was identical in the two groups. Our results showed that (1) prevention of premature luteinization is obtained with both approaches and (2) no significant difference in terms of length of stimulation, gonadotropin doses, ovarian response, and success rate was recorded between the two groups.

Impaired increase of plasma abscisic Acid in response to oral glucose load in type 2 diabetes and in gestational diabetes.

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is present and active in humans, regulating glucose homeostasis. In normal glucose tolerant (NGT) human subjects, plasma ABA (ABAp) increases 5-fold after an oral glucose load. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an oral glucose load on ABAp in type 2 diabetes (T2D) subjects. We chose two sub-groups of patients who underwent an oral glucose load for diagnostic purposes: i) 9 treatment-naive T2D subjects, and ii) 9 pregnant women with gestational diabetes (GDM), who underwent the glucose load before and 8–12 weeks after childbirth. Each group was compared with matched NGT controls. The increase of ABAp in response to glucose was found to be abrogated in T2D patients compared to NGT controls. A similar result was observed in the women with GDM compared to pregnant NGT controls; 8–12 weeks after childbirth, however, fasting ABAp and ABAp response to glucose were restored to normal in the GDM subjects, along with glucose tolerance. We also retrospectively compared fasting ABAp before and after bilio-pancreatic diversion (BPD) in obese, but not diabetic subjects, and in obese T2D patients, in which BPD resulted in the resolution of diabetes. Compared to pre-BPD values, basal ABAp significantly increased 1 month after BPD in T2D as well as in NGT subjects, in parallel with a reduction of fasting plasma glucose. These results indicate an impaired hyperglycemia-induced ABAp increase in T2D and in GDM and suggest a beneficial effect of elevated ABAp on glycemic control.

Gestational choriocarcinoma arising in a cornual pregnancy

A of a case of cornual pregnancy associated with initial transformation to choriocarcinoma is reported. Appropriate monitoring of HCG titers following conservative management of ectopic pregnancy is important not only to diagnose persistent ectopic gestation, but to avoid missing trophoblastic disease, albeit rarely.

Endometrial response in sequential cyclic therapy assessed with associated hysteroscopy and histology

A morphologic study was performed on the endometrium in 37 asymptomatic postmenopausal women under effects of cyclically administered oestrogens. Eighty-seven postmenopausal women were taken as control group. Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), 10 mg daily, was administered in association with two types of oestrogen replacement therapy: conjugated equine oestrogens 0.625 mg (CEE) or transdermal 17 beta-oestradiol 0.05 mg (E2-TTS). Endometrial biopsies were taken under hysteroscopic control before treatment and on days 8-12 of combined therapy at the 6th month. Follow-up at 12 and 18 months was only performed in 8 and 5 patients, respectively, with transdermal 17 beta-oestradiol treatment. Various types of endometrial response were identified from atrophy to hyperplasia and secretory patterns. No atypical hyperplasia was found. All cases of simple or complex hyperplasia showed a regression after increased MPA dosage treatment (20 mg). This work is aimed at investigating the endometrial response during sequential cyclic therapy by using morphologic criteria based on hysteroscopy and histology. A large number of patients with hyperplasia can be detected with target biopsy under hysteroscopy, thus playing an important role in the management of patients during replacement therapy in research protocols.

Laparoscopic surgery in pregnancy

A 32-year-old white lady suffering from tubal infertility was referred to our institution in November 1992 because of low abdominal pain due to a heterotopic pregnancy (one intrauterine sac and the other in the right tube). The patient had undergone, 8 weeks before, her second successful attempt at in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. We decided to perform a laparoscopic salpingectomy. At inspection, the presence of tubo-ovarian adhesions was noted, secondary to the previous tubal microsurgical procedure, that were lysed by means of monopolar electrocoagulation. Salpingectomy was performed by combined bipolar cauterization and blunt-scissor dissection of the mesosalpinx. No uterine contractions were noted after surgery and the patients were discharged the next day. The rest of the pregnancy was uneventful and the patient spontaneously delivered vaginally a healthy female newborn weighing 3,060 g (Apgar score=9) on June 20, 1993, at 39 weeks of gestation. A review of the published literature on laparoscopic surgery in pregnancy is given.

Selective salpingography and tubaric catheterization in the diagnosis and treatment of fallopian tube obstruction

Fallopian tube catheterization with selective salpingography is a new technique for the diagnosis of tubal factors of sterility and also for the treatment of proximal tubal obstruction (PTO). In this study, 156 women, 20–42 years of age, with a mean duration of infertility of 5.7 years, who presented at conventional hysterosalpingography (HSG) a unilateral or bilateral PTO, were studied. Catheterization and selective salpingography was successful in 93% of the cases. Failures (6.1%) were ascribed to obliterative organic diseases, where it was impossible to overcome the stenosis with the catheter or the guidewire. Fourteen spontaneous pregnancies were obtained (7 full term deliveries, 4 miscarriages, 3 tubal pregnancies) and 11 patients became pregnant after gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT). At follow-up, after 12 monts, four out of ten patients had patent tubes, while six presented a new unilateral or bilateral PTO. No major complications occurred; nevertheless, it is acknowledged that ectopic pregnancy is a possible outcome, due to the mechanical re-establishment of patency in a non-functioning tube.

Unexpected pregnancies after tubal recanalization failure with selective catheterization**Supported by a grant from National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche), Targeted Project “Prevention and Control of Disease Factors,” subproject 05, “Human Fertility Control,” contract no. 01.00108.8F41, Chieti, Italy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate selective salpingography sensitivity. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of Genoa, Italy. PATIENTS One hundred seventeen patients previously submitted to selective salpingography because of unilateral or bilateral proximal tubal injection failure. RESULTS Seven pregnancies, one of which was ectopic, were obtained in 17 patients who had only recanalized tubes available for conception; 15 pregnancies were obtained in 39 patients who had one tube recanalized and one already patent; 3 tubal pregnancies were obtained in 12 patients who had only one tube already patent; 4 pregnancies, one of which was ectopic, were obtained in 19 patients who had neither patent nor recanalized tubes. CONCLUSIONS Selective salpingography can give false-positive results; therefore, it is possible to obtain a pregnancy even after selective salpingography failure.