Reduction of perifollicular arterial blood flow resistance after hCG administration is a good indicator of the recovery of mature oocytes in ART treatment.

PURPOSE

To demonstrate our hypothesis that a correlation exists between oocyte maturity and a decrease in intraovarian blood flow resistance in assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment cycles, oocyte maturity and total antioxidant status (TAOS) in follicular fluid was examined.

METHODS

A total of 59 cycles involving 51 infertile patients undergoing ART treatment in our hospital were recruited in this study. The ART cycles were divided into two groups: deeply decreased (DD) group and not-deeply decreased (NDD) group, according to the pulsatility index (PI) values for perifollicular arterial blood flow before and after hCG administration. The PI values that showed a decrease in their PI after hCG administration of 10% or more were defined "deeply decreased" and showed a decrease of less than 10% were considered "not-deeply decreased." The recovery rates of mature and immature oocytes and TAOS in follicular fluid were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Mature and immature oocyte recovery rates in the DD group (62.5% and 17.2%) were significantly higher and lower, respectively, than those in the NDD group (41.7% and 38.3%, p < 0.05). The TAOS (1.55 +/- 0.44 mmol/L) of the DD group was significantly lower than that in the NDD group (1.68 +/- 0.47 mmol/L, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The decrease in intraovarian arterial blood flow resistance measured after hCG administration may be a good indicator of retrieving mature oocyte.