Transvaginal ultrasound assessment of women presenting with infertility and menstrual irregularity in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was designed to document the Transvaginal Scan (TVS) findings in women presenting with infertility and menstrual irregularities at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. Subjects were women of reproductive age presenting at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital with menstrual irregularities and infertility over a two year period, February 2011-January 2013. As part of their management, transvaginal scans were done and findings included a substantial number with polycystic ovarian cysts. Therefore the ovaries were further analysed with controls. Out of seventy-one women with age distribution of 22 to 46years, twenty- four(33.8%) presented with infertility, the rest presented with either menstrual irregularity alone or in combination with infertility. Polycystic ovaries (PCO), chronic pelvic inflammatory disease and fibroids were the main pathologies seen. PCO was by far the commonest. Ovarian volumes and follicular numbers were significantly higher in women with PCO than in controls, whereas their average follicular sizes were lower. PCO is the major finding in women with menstrual irregularity and infertility in the Calabar area. This hitherto poorly recorded pathology should be actively investigated in women representing with these symptoms by the use of TVS.