Predicting Success With IVF
Reported March 15, 2007
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Women who are considering in-vitro fertilization (IVF) may soon be able to opt for a simpler test to see how likely it is the procedure will result in enough eggs to support a pregnancy.
According to researchers from the Netherlands, using ultrasound to count the number of small, egg-bearing follicles in the ovaries can predict how the ovaries will respond to IVF just as well as standard endocrine tests, which are not only time consuming for patients, but expensive as well.
The investigators arrived at that conclusion after conducting ultrasound scans on 110 women between ages 18 and 39 who were having difficulty conceiving, counting the number of antral follicles in each woman. The women then underwent standard tests to predict IVF success. All were subsequently followed to see how many eggs their ovaries produced after undergoing the IVF procedure.
Results showed similar predictive results for the standard tests and the follicle counting method.
Lead author Janet Kwee comments, “The follicle count is just as good a test for ovarian response as expensive and time consuming endocrine tests.”
SOURCE: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, published online March 14, 2007