Analysis of shear wave elastography and elastometry results in the endometrial pathology diagnosis in patients with secondary infertility

Aim. To analyze the results of the application and to study the effectiveness of ultrasound shear wave elastography and elastometry in the endometrial pathology diagnosis in secondary infertility.

Methods. Multiparameter ultrasound with shear wave elastography and elastometry modes (Shear Wave Elastography) was performed in 146 women of reproductive age (Aixplorer scanner, Supersonic Imagine, France). The main group (N1) included 101 women with secondary infertility: 43 patients with tuberculous lesions of the uterus, 58 - with chronic endometritis without concomitant tuberculosis. The control group (N2) included 45 healthy women: 22 nulliparous women, 23 - parous women. Age of examined women ranged from 24 to 48 years, mean age in N1 group was 34.4±2.6 years, in N2 group - 33.9±2.9 years.

Results.. Depending on the nature of the pathology elastographic cards of examined women in the main group differed in color. Elastographic cards of blue-green range of low intensity dominated in patients with chronic endometritis. In patients with tuberculous lesions of the uterus unevenly colored, non-homogeneous, high intensity, from green to yellow and red in color-grade elastographic cards were determined. Endometrial stiffness values in patients with chronic endometritis and in tuberculous lesions of the endometrium (31.7±4.3 and 89.7±5.7 kPa, respectively) were significantly higher than that in healthy women (16.5±1.0 kPa, p

Conclusion. The presented analysis indicates the feasibility of the shear wave elastography and elastometry application in multiparameter ultrasound study of the uterus and adnexa in the diagnostic algorithm of patients with secondary infertility.