Radiographic pelvimetry is widely used in obstetrics. Every fourth primapara in Sweden is submitted to this radiographic examination. The frequency of the examination in the United States is estimated to a mean of 6% of -all deliveries.

The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of radiographic pelvimetry. 48 radiologists were asked to estimate the pelvic inlet and outlet diameters from copies of 20 pelvimetry radiographs. We found that every third patient will have the sum of her pelvic outlet over- or underestimated by at least 4 mm, and 3% by more than 10 mm. The random measurement error of the sum of the pelvic outlet is about four times greater than the systematic error. The random error of the sagittal outlet diameter contributes to almost half of the total measurement error of the pelvic outlet sum. The measurement values of radiographic pelvimetry are often expressed in mm, which may give an impression of exactness that is obviously not well founded. Only in a few cases where the measurements suggest a severe feto-pelvic disproportion is it justified to do an elective cesarean section on the basis of radiographic pelvimetry only.

Abstract. Does a thorough vaginal cleansing with bactericidal solutions prior to induced first‐trimester vacuum aspiration abortion reduce the frequency of postabortal pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)? To answer this question we compared the frequency of PID in 372 women where a thorough preoperative vaginal cleansing with a bactericidal solution was undertaken at abortion with that in 350 women where the upper part of the vagina was swabbed with a pad moistened with a 0.9% saline solution. A postoperative PID was recorded in 25 (6.7%) of the former women and in 23 (6.6%) of the latter women.