Hysterosalpingographic Tubal Abnormalities in Retroviral (HIV) Positive and Negative Infertile Females

Background: HIV and infertility are associated in several ways and the improved treatment options which are available for HIV patients have improved their health, increased their reproductive years and subsequently, their desire to procreate. Objective: The objective was to compare the findings on hyserosalpingography in HIV positive and negative infertile females. Study Design: All the 5250 patients who were referred to the radiodiagnosis unit of the centre in 2011 were counselled about the study, but only the two thousand and two hundred females who gave their consents had their retroviral status determined and were included in this study. Their sociodemographic histories were acquired with the aid of a structured questionnaire and their hysterosalpingography studies were reported by a radiologist. Results: Most of the patients (54.5%) were within the age group of 31-40 years, they were mainly nullparous (76.8%) and a past history of induced abortions was statistically significant in the HIV positive patients compared to HIV negative patients. Also, the uterine synechiae were significantly higher in the HIV positive than the HIV negative patients (26.5% and 9.6% respectively). Tubal abnormalities were seen in 52% and 26% of the positive and negative individuals respectively, with hydrosalpinges being the commonest pathology in the HIV positive patients and distal occlusion being the commonest in the HIV negative patients. Conclusion: Tubal infertility is the commonest cause of the infertility in the HIV positive individuals and the commonest tubal pathology is hydrosalpinges as compared to distal tubal occlusion in the HIV negative patients. There is a need to not only research further into the treatment and other options for the patients with tubal infertility, but also to make them available and affordable to provide succour to this group of patients, no matter what their retroviral status is.