POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM IVF?

Problem statement: The polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common
endocrinopathy among women within the reproductive age with an incidence of 6 to
21% and a prevalence of 8 to 13%. It is a heterogeneous syndrome with important
consequences regarding women’s health, including fertility.
The main objective of this study is to evaluate PCOS patients’ oocyte
quality and the characteristics of their response to ovarian stimulation (OS).
Methods: Retrospective and comparative study which includes a group of PCOS
patients (n 62) according to the Rotterdam consensus [1-3] and a control group (n 113)
with women classified as normorrespondent according to Bologna criteria [14]. Both
clinical and demographic variables have been collected to compare both groups.
Results: Even though PCOS group presents a greater response to OS compared
with the control group [more punctured follicles and mature oocytes (15.9 vs. 10.3 with
p 0.001 and 12.1 vs. 7.9 with p 0.001 respectively)], no differences were found in the
number of obtained embryos (2.7 vs. 2.3 with p 0.321 respectively) and the miscarriage
rate is higher in PCOS group.
Conclusion: Although PCOS group has a greater response to OS,
no difference between the number of embryos and the clinical pregnancy rate (13.1%
vs. 25% with p 0.06 respectively) were found, being this rate higher in the control group,
which indicates a possible worse oocyte quality among patients within the PCOS group.