ABSTRACT
To investigate the significant findings of ultrasonography before hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) was given in normal pre- and post-menopausal women. Sixty eight Thai pre- and post-menopausal women with no previous HRT were recruited into the study, They were divided into 22 pre-menopausal women (group I), 28 post-menopausal women of < or = 5 years (group II) and 18 post-menopausal women of > 5 years (group III). Their mean age was 48.2, 50.2 and 57.3 years, respectively. Myoma uteri was found in 10 (45.5%), 2 (7.1%) and 1 (5.6%) in group I, II and III. There were 2 (9.1%), 3 (10.7%), 3 (16.7%) cases of ovarian tumor in these three groups respectively. The detection rate of ovaries from ultrasound was 90.7 per cent in group I, 89.1 per cent in group II and III. The corpus to cervix ratio in the three groups was 2.3, 2.4 and 2.3, respectively. Uterine volume in nulliparous and multiparous pre-menopausal women was 56.6 ml and 74.2 ml, but in group II and III were 60.1 ml and 37.1 ml respectively. Endometrial thickness was significantly different in group I, II and III (7.2, 4 and 2.9 mm.) Left and right ovarian volume of group I was significantly larger than that of group II and group III. In conclusion, the ultrasonography is highly recommended to detect uterine and ovarian abnormalities before HRT is given in pre- and post-menopausal women.