Ultrasonographic evaluation of acute pelvic pain in female patients

Abstract EN

Acute pelvic pain is a common emergency presentation among female patients.

This study was done to identify its' common causes and sonographic patterns in our local community.

From June 2011 to December 2016, 94 female patients from Hadramout, Shabwa and Almahra governorates, aged between 13 and 45 years, who referred to Bahabara radiology center in Mukalla complaining of acute pelvic pain, were examined and evaluated using sonography with a deep frequency transducer (3.5-5 MHz).

Their age groups and resulting sonographic findings were recorded and classified accordingly.

The results showed that eighteen patients (19.15%) had negative or normal ultrasound results, while 76 (80.85%) had detectable cause, most of them at reproductive age group (81.58%), while only 18.42% adolescents.

Ovarian cyst and its complications was the commonest cause among positive cases in both adolescents and reproductive age groups (29.79%) followed by pelvic inflammatory disease (17.02%), acute appendicitis (9.57%), nephrolithiasis and ureteric stone (7.45 %), ectopic pregnancy (5.32%), uterine myoma necrosis (4.25%), incarcerated inguinal hernia (3.19%), ovarian torsion (2.13%) and dermoid cyst (2.13%).

We concluded that APP is more common among reproductive age group, and gynecologic causes were the most common in our study.