The aim of the study was to find out whether the estimation of the baseline ovarian volume prior to stimulation would be a suitable predictor for the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). A total of 101 patients underwent in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer. They had a 3-D volumetric assessment of the ovaries and body weight estimations on the first day of hormonal stimulation. A second measurement was performed on the day of ovulation induction with human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) together with an oestradiol 17 beta estimation in serum. During the IVF programme 15 women developed OHSS and 86 did not. There was a significant correlation between the baseline ovarian volume and subsequent occurrence of OHSS (P = 0.03). Other significant relationships were found between the occurrence of OHSS and the number of follicles (P = 0.002), the number of oocytes retrieved (P = 0.0001) and the length of the cycle (P = 0.0001). The body weight before and after the stimulation was significantly lower in the group of women who did develop the syndrome (P = 0.011 resp. 0.03). The oestradiol 17 beta concentration on the day of HCG administration in the serum of the patients who had OHSS was significantly higher (P = 0.0001). In conclusion, volumetry of the ovaries could help to detect patients at risk and prevent the occurrence of OHSS by early adjustment of the hormonal dosage. Recent advances in ultrasound technology (3-D ultrasound) enable quick and highly accurate volumetric assessments. Furthermore, our study confirms previous observations that low body weight and long cycles seem to be additional risk factors for the development of OHSS.

To compare oocyte quality and clinical outcome after an ultrashort or a modified suppression gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) protocol for ovarian stimulation in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles, we conducted a prospective randomized study of 60 consecutive couples with severe male infertility admitted for their first in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and ICSI attempt. More cycles were cancelled after the ultrashort protocol (8/30) than after the modified suppression protocol (3/30), although the difference was not significant. There were no cases of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in the ultrashort group compared to three cases in the suppression group. The percentage of mature metaphase II oocytes recovered in both groups was similar (88 versus 86%), as were the fertilization or cleavage rates after ICSI. In the ultrashort group, a total of 64 embryos was replaced in 22 transfers (mean 2.9 embryos per transfer), resulting in three first trimester abortions and seven deliveries. In the suppression group, 11 deliveries were achieved after transfer of a total of 75 embryos in 27 patients (mean 2.8 embryos per transfer). In conclusion, there was no apparent difference between the two GnRHa protocols in terms of oocyte quality and clinical outcome. However, because of the lower rate of severe OHSS, in our study the ultrashort protocol was more appropriate for ovarian stimulation in ICSI cycles than the modified suppression protocol.