HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stamm, E. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Stamm, E. R. Social Bookmarking                      What's this? Hotlight (NEW!) What's Hotlight?

Color Doppler Sonography in Gynecology and Obstetrics

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Denver, CO 80262

 
By Werner Schmidt and Asim Kurjak. Translated by Terry Telger. Stuttgart, Germany: Georg Thieme Verlag, 405 pp., 2005. $169.95

This text addresses the use of Doppler sonography in a wide variety of clinical settings in the fields of gynecology and obstetrics. The editors are professors in gynecology and obstetrics and are considered experts in their field. Most of the 35 other contributors are German physicians practicing in the fields of obstetrics and/or gynecology, although there are also contributors from departments of prenatal diagnosis, genetics, pediatric cardiology, and more.

The text is divided into five broad sections: Physical and Technical Principles (two chapters), Infertility Evaluation/Assisted Reproduction (seven chapters), Obstetric Ultrasound (seven chapters), Specific Obstetric Problems (nine chapters), and Gynecologic Ultrasound (15 chapters). Most chapters are relatively short, running 5-9 pages, with many images, diagrams, and tables. Many chapters include literature reviews in table form.

The section on Physical and Technical Principles covers ultrasound physics as well as technical and safety aspects of Doppler sonography in about 30 pages, providing a brief review for those who have a solid understanding of ultrasound and Doppler physics and a stepping-off point for those who do not.

The Infertility and Assisted Reproduction chapters review the utility of color and spectral Doppler sonography in the workup of uterine, ovarian, and tubal causes of infertility, with attention to interventional sonography in reproductive medicine. As in the other sections, clinical issues and gray-scale and spectral Doppler sonography are emphasized, with relatively little text devoted to color Doppler sonography.

The 16 chapters dedicated to obstetric sonography explore a wide variety of topics, including folliculogenesis; early normal and abnormal pregnancy; and fetal, placental, and uterine Doppler sonography in normal and abnormal pregnancies.

I found some chapters disappointing. For example, the chapter addressing color Doppler sonography in ectopic pregnancy does not mention the "ring of fire" classically associated with ectopic pregnancy. The author cites one of his own studies, a retrospective review of two groups of patients, one scanned with and the other without color Doppler sonography, and concludes that color Doppler sonography improves positive predictive value in the setting of ectopic pregnancy. The study design and criteria used to identify the ectopic gestation with color Doppler sonography are not clear. The group scanned without color Doppler sonography was imaged before the advent of color Doppler sonography. The other group was scanned with color Doppler sonography (clearly on different and presumably better equipment), leaving me unconvinced of the conclusion.

This section includes several excellent chapters on the placenta, with examples of histology, gross pathology, and many tables providing easy reference for review of the literature. Also included in the section are two chapters on fetal echocardiography that review the high points of the major structural and functional fetal cardiac anomalies in an organized and readable fashion, with numerous diagrams and images.

The Gynecologic Ultrasound section provides a thorough review of the use of Doppler sonography in the workup of benign and malignant disease of the ovaries, uterus, and breasts. Spectral Doppler findings are emphasized.

This text has many positive features, including numerous diagrams, tables, literature reviews, and sonographic images. The table of contents and index are complete, making it easy to navigate to an area of interest. I applaud the authors for the breadth of topics included in the text. Because so many topics were included, space constraints made it impossible to cover all areas in depth, and some important topics were only superficially covered.

I was surprised that very little text was actually devoted to color Doppler sonography while most of the discussion, images, and literature reviews addressed spectral Doppler findings. A more appropriate title for the text would be "Doppler Sonography in Gynecology and Obstetrics."

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stamm, E. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Stamm, E. R. Social Bookmarking                      What's this? Hotlight (NEW!) What's Hotlight?