Abstract

Objective: Some ovarian malignancies may originate in the fallopian tube. The feasibility of ultrasonographically visualizing the fallopian tube is presented. Methods: In total, 549 normal women participated in the fallopian tube visualization trial, while ovarian visualization was studied in 43,521. Chi-square analysis, t-tests and multivariate analysis determined significance and interactions. Results: Ovaries were observed in 82.7% while fallopian tubes were detected in 77.2% of women and 85.2% of the time when an ovary was detected. Age, BMI or parity was not significantly different when one or both fallopian tubes were visualized. Elevated BMI had slightly greater influence than age in limiting visualization of the fallopian tubes in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Fallopian tubes can often be identified sonographically. Ovarian visualization provides the strongest indicator favoring fallopian tube detection. Thus, ultrasonographic examinations for adnexal cancer could include evaluation of fallopian tubes even in women > 60 years and in women with BMI ≥ 25.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2016

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Women's Health, v. 12, issue 3, p. 303-311.

© 2016 Future Medicine Ltd

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work as published without adaptation or alteration, without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (http://www.uk.sagepub.com/aboutus/openaccess.htm).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.2217/whe.15.111

Funding Information

This work was supported by grants from the Telford Foundation and the Department of Health and Human Services, Commonwealth of Kentucky.

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