Prospects of Using Microwave Radiothermometry in Early Diagnosis of Endometritis and Uterine Suture Failure After Abdominal Birth

Abstract

Aim: To assess the capabilities of microwave radiothermometry (MRTM) in early diagnosis of Postpartum endometritis and uterine suture failure after caesarean section. Design: Prospective non-randomized clinical trial. Materials and methods. A comparative analysis of the sensitivity of ultrasound (ultrasound) with dopplerometry and MRTM in the diagnosis of endometritis and suture failure on the uterus after cesarean section was carried out. The study included puerperal women after abdominal delivery (n = 90): 24 patients with a puerperia complication in the form of endometritis (group I), 16 — with suture failure on the uterus (group II), 50 — with a physiologically occurring postoperative period (control group). Assessment of the condition of the uterus and the postoperative suture on it was carried out on the 3–4th day after the operation. Results. Despite the fact that ultrasound with dopplerometry assessment of blood flow in the branches of the uterine arteries makes it possible to assess the structure of the myometrium and with a fairly high degree of probability to identify its inflammatory changes and defects in the suture, the sensitivity of this method in the early (3–4th day of the postoperative period) diagnosis of endometritis after abdominal delivery reaches an average of 54.2 ± 23.5%, and in the insolvency of the suture on the uterus — 31.25 ± 14.65%. At the same time, the MRTM study revealed indirect signs of endometritis in 66.7 ± 7.9% (if the conclusion is based on only one parameter — the thermoassymetry index, ITA) and 87.5 ± 8.3% (taking into account the combination of three signs), and for the insolvency of the suture on the uterus, the sensitivity of the method is 81.25 ± 4.75% for both ITA and three thermogram parameters, which is 2.6 times higher, than with ultrasound. Conclusion. Despite the rather high diagnostic effectiveness of the ultrasound method for assessing the condition of the scar on the uterus after cesarean section, the MRTM method has advantages in the form of higher sensitivity, ease of implementation, no need for expensive equipment and specialized medical qualifications. The greatest effectiveness of the diagnosis of postpartum purulent-septic complications can be achieved only with an integrated approach with clinical and laboratory tests and functional diagnostics, and timely prevention and an integrated approach to the treatment of purulent-inflammatory diseases of postoperative puerperia contribute to a significant reduction in the frequency of severe forms of postpartum infection. Keywords: caesarean section, endometritis, uterine suture failure, ultrasound, microwave radiothermometry, hysteroscopy.