Routine office hysteroscopy in the investigation of infertile couples prior to assisted reproduction A.C.J.S. Rosa e Silva * , J.C. Rosa e Silva, F.J.C. Reis, A.A. Nogueira, R.A. Ferriani Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeira ˜o Preto, Ribeira ˜o Preto, R. Manoel Ache, 920- apto 2203, SP 14020-590, Brazil Abstract. Objective: To evaluate the need for office hysteroscopy in routine investigations of infertile couples prior to assisted reproduction (AR). Study design: A retrospective and descriptive clinical study of all outpatients submitted to AR technique infertility investigation from January 1996 to December 2001 in a tertiary medical center. All of these patients underwent hysteroscopy. Results: Within the group of 574 patients studied, 159 (27.7%) had no clinical complaints and presented normal ultrasounds. Of these 159 patients, only 8 (5%) presented abnormalities detected through hysteroscopy, and therefore would not have been diagnosed without the latter procedure. Normal ultrasounds were seen in 498 (86.8%), 50 (8.7%) had abnormal hysteroscopies. Only 29 (5.1%) of the 50 with abnormal hysteroscopies required treatment prior to AR. No correlation was found between the two exam types (Kappa=0.305). Significant uterine cavity abnormalities were Mqllerian malformations (in 30%), endometrial polyps (in 26.4%) and intrauterine adhesions (in 16%). Conclusion: Given the impracticality of performing hysteroscopy on pre-AR patients, we suggest that diagnostic hysteroscopy be considered only for patients whose clinical complaints imply the presence of endometrial disease or whose ultrasounds are abnormal. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Hysteroscopy; Infertility; Assisted reproduction; Ultrasound 0531-5131/ D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ics.2004.06.028 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 16 39111829; fax: +55 16 39632791. E-mail address: anasars@convex.com.br (A.C.J.S. Rosa e Silva). International Congress Series 1271 (2004) 255 – 258 www.ics-elsevier.com