Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2010;32(11):536-540
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032010001100004
PURPOSE: to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) outcomes performed at the Human Reproduction Center of Faculdade de Medicina do ABC. METHODS: retrospective data from 488 IVF cycles of 385 patients. Patients were classified into two groups according to BMI: normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m²) and overweight/obesity (>25 kg/m²). We evaluated the dose of recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (FSHr), the cancellation rates for ovarian cycle response, and the results of the assisted reproduction laboratory such as number of oocytes, number of good quality embryos, number of embryos transferred, and pregnancy rates, chemical pregnancy rates, miscarriage rate and live birth rate. The t test was used for comparison of quantitative variables between groups, and the χ2 test for comparison between qualitative variables. P values <0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: considering ovulation induction characteristics, there was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding the FSHr dose administered or the cancellation rates, p=0.47 and p=0.85, respectively. Regarding laboratory findings, the number of oocytes retrieved per cycle was similar for both groups (p=0.09), as also was the number of good quality embryos obtained and transferred (p=0.7 and p=0.6). The pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 27.6% for the group of normal weight and 29.6% for the overweight/obese group (p=0.76). Miscarriage rates and birth rates were similar for both groups, p=0.54 and p=0.94. CONCLUSION: BMI did not influence IVF/ICSI outcomes evaluated.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2010;32(9):441-446
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032010000900005
PURPOSE: to evaluate the contribution of diagnostic laparoscopy to approach the infertile couple. METHODS: retrospective analysis of 86 consecutive cases of patients who were accompanied in the infertility appointments and were submitted to diagnostic laparoscopy from January 2004 to December 2006. Eighty-two of these patients had been submitted to hysterosalpingography (HSG) prior to laparoscopy. The laparoscopic findings were analyzed, as well as the accessory procedures, and the results of the hysterosalpingography and of the laparoscopy were correlated. Statistical analysis was performed by the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 15. The sensitivity and the specificity of HSG were determined and the confidence intervals were calculated with an alpha error of 0.05 (95%CI). RESULTS: the laparoscopy revealed 21 cases of endometriosis (24.4%), 14 cases of uni/bilateral inflammatory disease of the salpinx (16.3%), and 16 cases of pelvic inflammatory disease (18.6%). Adhesiolysis and ablation of endometrial lesions were performed in eight patients. There were also other accessory procedures: two salpingostomies, two paraovarian cystectomies, two ovarian cystectomies and three ovarian drillings. The tubal patency test during laparoscopy was normal in 44 cases (53%), revealed unilateral obstruction in 21 cases (25.3%) and bilateral obstruction in 17 cases (20.5%). The results of the hysterosalpingography were similar to those of the laparoscopy in 44 out of the 82 cases (53.7%). HSG sensitivity was 0.79 (95%CI=0.62-0.9) and its specificity was 0.58 (95%CI=0.42-0.73) when the disease was defined as any form of tubal occlusion detected with the laparoscopy, wheter this occlusion was one-sided or two-sided. HSG sensitivity and specificity were 0.47 (95%CI=0.24-0.71) and 0.77 (95%CI=0.64-0.86), respectively, when the definition of the disease was limited to two-sided tubal occlusion. In nine cases (15.3%) in which HSG had shown normal findings or only a unilateral occlusion, laparoscopy revealed a two-sided occlusion. And in 15 cases (65.2%) in which HSG had shown a two-sided occlusion, laparoscopy revealed normal findings or one-sided occlusion. CONCLUSIONS: the laparoscopy demonstrated its diagnostic and therapeutic relevance, proving to have fundamental importance for the clarification of the tuboperitoneal status. It has permitted the development of concomitant accessory therapeutic procedures, thus defining the best treatment strategy for the infertile couples.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2010;32(8):393-397
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032010000800006
PURPOSE: to describe hysteroscopy findings in infertile patients. METHODS: this was a retrospective series of 953 patients with diagnosis of infertility evaluated by hysteroscopy. A total of 957 patients investigated for infertility were subjected to hysteroscopy, preferentially during the first phase of the menstrual cycle. When necessary, directed biopsies (under direct visualization during the exam) or guided biopsies were obtained using a Novak curette after defining the site to be biopsied during the hysteroscopic examination. Outcome frequencies were determined as percentages, and the χ2 test was used for the correlations. The statistical software EpiInfo 2000 (CDC) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: a normal uterine cavity was detected in 436 cases (45.8%). This was the most frequent diagnosis for women with primary infertility and for women with one or no abortion (p<0.05). Abnormal findings were obtained in 517 of 953 cases (54.2%), including intrauterine synechiae in 185 patients (19.4%), endometrial polyps in 115 (12.1%), endocervical polyps in 66 (6.0%), submucosal myomas in 47 (4.9%), endometrial hyperplasia in 39 (4.1%), adenomyosis in five (0.5%), endometritis (with histopathological confirmation) in four (0.4%), endometrial bone metaplasia in two (0.4%), and cancer of the endometrium in one case (0.1%). Morphological and functional changes of the uterus were detected in 5.6% of the cases, including uterine malformations in 32 (3.4%) and isthmus-cervical incompetence in 21 (2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: intrauterine synechiae were the most frequent abnormal findings in patients evaluated for infertility. Patients with a history of abortion and infertility should be submitted to hysteroscopy in order to rule out intrauterine synechiae as a possible cause of infertility.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2010;32(6):298-307
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032010000600008
Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue, localized outside the uterine cavity, such as peritoneal surface, ovaries, and rectum-vaginal septum. The prevalence is about 6 to 10%. Concerning the etiopathogenesis, the retrograde menstruation theory is accepted, although disruption in endometrial molecular biology seems to be fundamental to the development of endometriosis ectopic focuses. Women with endometriosis may be asymptomatic or may present complaints of dysmenorrhea, dispareunia, chronic pelvic pain and/or infertility. Although the definitive diagnosis of endometriosis needs a surgical intervention, mainly by laparoscopy, many findings obtained by physicalexamination and imaging and laboratory tests can predict, with a high degree of reliability, that the patient has endometriosis. The most common current treatments include surgery, ovarian suppression therapy or both. Pharmacological treatments that do not inhibit ovarian function are under investigation.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2009;31(7):349-352
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032009000700005
PURPOSE: to evaluate the ovarian reserve of infertile patients with severe ovarian endrometriosis, submitted to excisional surgery of endometriomas and attended from February to November, 2008. METHODS: prospective study, including 30 patients with endometriosis grades III and IV, with severe ovarian impairment, submitted to excisional surgery of the endometriomas, and 30 patients with endometriosis grades I and II, allocated as a Control Group. The ovarian reserve was indirectly assessed, through the basal (U/L) follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), between the third and fifth days of the cycle, 12 months after the surgery. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated according to Quetelet's formula [weight (kg)/height(cm²)]. The Mann-Whitney non-parametric U test was used to compare the variables "age", "BMI" and "basal SFH" between the groups. RESULTS: there was no significant difference between the groups about age and BMI. Concerning basal FSH, in the group of patients with severe endometriosis, the average value was 7.0 U/L, while in the Control Group, it was 5.6 U/L (p=0.3), what demonstrates that the difference between the two groups was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: the surgery did not affect the ovarian reserve of patients with severe ovarian endometriosis.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2009;31(3):138-141
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032009000300006
PURPOSE: to report three cases of spontaneous gestation in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), that occurred in the months subsequent to transvaginal oocyte retrieval for in vitro maturation (IVM). METHODS: three infertile patients with PCOS, submitted to oocytes' IVM without previous ovarian stimulation, were included in the study. During the procedure of oocytes' collection, each ovary was drilled from four to eight times. RESULTS: none of the patients got pregnant with the IVM technique. Evaluating the cases' follow-up, in seven months after the procedure, the three patients got pregnant without the help of techniques of assisted reproduction, which resulted in three births. CONCLUSIONS: the multiple drillings in the ovary of these patients with PCOS, during the process to collect oocytes, may have contributed to their pregnancy in the months following the procedure.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2008;30(4):201-209
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032008000400008
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) occurs in 6 to 10% of women during the reproductive age. Insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia are currently two of the main factors involved in the etiopathogenesis of PCOS. The objective of the present review was to discuss the controversies related to the treatment of infertile women with PCOS and during their pregnancy, focusing on the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) current consensus.