Predictive value of hysteroscopic examination in intrauterine abnormalities

Study objective: This study was set up to evaluate the predictive value of hysteroscopic examination in patients referred to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical and Health Science Center, Debrecen, Hungary. Study design: The authors performed 835 biopsies by hysteroscopy over more than 13 years. They compared their findings with histological findings held in a a computerized clinical database. Results: The sensitivity of hysteroscopy was 0.52 for hyperplasia, 0.87 for polyps, 0.85 for myomas, 0.68 for carcinoma, and 0.73 for atrophy. Conclusion: It seems that for findings facing into the uterine cavity (such as submucosal myomas and peduncular polyps), hysteroscopy can predict the histological results. The evaluation of endometrial cycles and of the thickness of the endometrium by hysteroscopy is less accurate. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.