[Systematic preventive antibiotic therapy during hysterosalpingography in an African tropical environment: is this practice justified?].

To find out whether preventive antibiotic therapy can be justified in the practice of hysterosalpingography in a tropical environment where the infectious risk is notoriatly high, the authors performed a prospective study concerning 49 females patients. The patients in genital activity period, were willing and volunteers and were aged from 20 to 44 years. They were examined by hysterosalpingography during a period of three months. Patients were distributed in two homogenous group, one group of 25 patients who had a preventive antibiotic therapy and the second group with 24 patients with no preventive antibiotic therapy. Hysterosalpingography examinations were performed with sterile and single-use equipment. All patients were clinically examined for medical record purposes: gynaecologic, obstetric, pelvic infection, oral contraception, previous hysterosalpingography. Biologic dosages were realized, including blood count and erythrocyte sedimentation, culture of vaginal sampling, C reactive protein rate. The results obtained showed no significant difference between the two groups. The authors conclude that hysterosalpingography can be also performed in a tropical environment without using systematic preventive antibiotic therapy provided that asepsisrules are strictly observed.