No abstract

The objective of this study was to determine factors affecting results and outcome of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). In this retrospective study, a total of 891 infertile women underwent IVF/ICSI cycles at the King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC) between January 2001 and December 2002. Conventional IVF treatment was performed in 64.6% of women and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in 35.4%, using a standardised long luteal protocol. Pregnancy rate was analysed according to age, type of infertility, cause of infertility, duration of infertility, number of eggs collected and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. A total of 126 cycles (14.1%) were cancelled. Among 765 cycles continued, fertilisation rate was 73.9%, implantation rate was 15.1% and pregnancy rate was 29.8%. Pregnant women had a multiple pregnancy rate of 28.9%, abortion rate of 13.6% and ectopic pregnancy rate of 1.3%. Duration and type of infertility had no significant effect on the pregnancy rate. Factors which appear to affect significantly the outcome of treatment include the woman's age, cause of infertility, basal concentrations of FSH, adequate ovarian responsiveness and the number of eggs collected. In some cases with poor outcome, the understanding of these factors may predict the results and lead to the development of new strategies to improve the outcome of IVF treatment.

Laparoscopic ovarian drilling is an effective treatment in clomiphene-citrate-resistant women with PCOS. Five, instead of > or = 10, punctures per ovary are sufficient to ameliorate the hyperandrogenic status in these women, improving their clinical and reproductive outcome.

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of metformin compared with ovarian drilling in the treatment of clomiphene citrate (CC) resistant women with polycystic ovary syndrome. A total of 161 infertile, CC-resistant women with PCOS aged 22-34 years (mean 25.5 +/- 4.4) were evaluated prospectively during the period between January 2000 and December 2001. Patients were allocated into two groups; group 1 includes 64 women who received metformin, 850 mg twice daily throughout the cycle, and group 2 which includes 97 women who underwent laparoscopic ovarian drilling. If spontaneous ovulation or pregnancy was not achieved within 3 months after treatment, CC was added with increments of 50 mg (up to 150 mg/day) for both groups. Clinical and menstrual characteristics in addition to the hormonal profile were evaluated before and after the treatment. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, body weight, BMI, duration of infertility and serum hormone levels (androgens, gonadotrophins, insulin) before starting the treatment. A significant improvement in the regularity of menstrual cycles (P < 0.05) and a significant reduction in the serum levels of testosterone(P<0.01), androstenedione (P<0.01), DHEAS (P <0.05), LH (P<0.01) and LH:FSH ratio (P<0.05) were noted after the treatment. There were no significant differences between the metformin group compared with the drilling group in the rates of ovulation (79.7% vs. 83.5%) and pregnancy (64.1% vs. 59.8%). It is concluded that CC-resistant patients with polycystic ovary syndrome can be treated effectively either by metformin or by laparoscopic ovarian drilling. Menstrual cycle pattern and the rates of ovulation and pregnancy are improved significantly, due most probably to the significant decrease in the levels of androgens and luteinising hormone.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical and reproductive outcome in clomiphene-citrate (CC)-resistant women with high body mass index (BMI) and primary infertility. This was a case series based at the King Hussein Medical center, Amman, Jordan. Nineteen CC-resistant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who had high BMI and primary infertility were studied. All women received metformin monotherapy; 850 mg twice daily for a period of 6 months. If pregnancy occurred, metformin was continued for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The main outcome measures were a reduction in the BMI, resumption of regular menses, ovulation and pregnancy rates. Resumption of regular cycles was observed in 13 of 19 (68.4%) women. Ovulation and pregnancy were achieved in 9 (47.4%) and 6 (31.6%) of the 19 women, respectively. A significant reduction in the body weight after treatment reflected by a significant reduction in the BMI was noted. Metformin monotherapy is effective in CC-resistant women with morbid obesity and primary infertility and should be considered as first-line treatment in these patients.