Coccia Maria Elisabetta, Rizzello Francesca, Barone Stefano, Pinelli Sara, Rapalini Erika, Parri Cristiana, Caracciolo Domenico, Papageorgiou Savvas, Cima Gianpaolo, Gandini Loredana
Department of Science for the Health of Woman and Child, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Ospedale Versilia, Centro di Procreazione medicalmente assistita, Lido di Camaiore (LU), Italy.
Ospedale Versilia, Centro di Procreazione medicalmente assistita, Lido di Camaiore (LU), Italy; Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Medical Physiopathology, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2014 Aug;29(2):259-66. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2014.04.019. Epub 2014 May 15.
This study investigated the relationships between ovarian endometrioma size, ovarian responsiveness and the number of retrieved oocytes following ovarian stimulation. A prospective study was conducted in a public clinical assisted reproduction centre. A total of 64 infertile women with monolateral endometriomas undergoing IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection were included in the study. The total number of follicles, number of follicles ≥ 16 mm and number of oocytes retrieved of ovaries containing endometrioma and normal ovaries were compared. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess whether number of follicles and collected oocytes varied by endometrioma size, age, basal FSH concentration. Significantly lower numbers of follicles ≥ 16 mm (P = 0.024) and oocytes retrieved (P = 0.001) in the ovaries containing endometrioma were observed. In patients with endometriomas ≥ 30 mm, endometrioma size was the most influential contributor to the total number of follicles and oocytes retrieved. Ovarian endometriomas result in reduced response to ovarian stimulation, compared with the response of the contralateral normal ovary in the same individual. In case of endometriomas <30 mm, basal FSH concentration remains the most important prognostic factor for oocyte retrieval.
