PREDICTION OF OVARIAN HYPERSTIMULATION SYNDROME OF BASE-LINE OVARIAN VOLUME PRIOR TO STIMULATION

The aim of the study was to find out whether the estimation of the bas eline ovarian volume prior to stimulation would be a suitable predicto r for the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). A total of 101 patients underwent in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transf er, They had a 3-D volumetric assessment of the ovaries and body weigh t estimations on the first day of hormonal stimulation, A second measu rement was performed on the day of ovulation induction with human chor ionic gonadotrophin (HCG) together with an oestradiol 17 beta estimati on in serum, During the IVF programme 15 women developed OHSS and 86 d id not, There was a significant correlation between the baseline ovari an volume and subsequent occurrence of OHSS (P = 0.03), Other signific ant relationships were found between the occurrence of OHSS and the nu mber of follicles (P = 0.002), the number of oocytes retrieved (P = 0. 0001) and the length of the cycle (P = 0.0001), The body weight before and after the stimulation was significantly lower in the group of wom en who did develop the syndrome (P = 0.011 resp.0.03). The oestradiol 17 beta concentration on the day of HCG administration in the serum of the patients who had OHSS was significantly higher (P = 0.0001), In c onclusion, volumetry of the ovaries could help to detect patients at r isk and prevent the occurrence of OHSS by early adjustment of the horm onal dosage, Recent advances in ultrasound technology (3-D ultrasound) enable quick and highly accurate volumetric assessments. Furthermore, our study confirms previous observations that low body weight and lon g cycles seem to be additional risk factors for the development of OHS S.