Effect of basal serum testosterone level on the ovarian response and the cumulative live birth rate in infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of basal serum testosterone levels on the ovarian response and the cumulative live birth rate of infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS: It is a retrospective study in a university-affiliated assisted reproduction center in Hong Kong. Infertile women undergoing the first IVF cycle in the center between December 2012 and November 2016 with archived serum samples and available information on cumulative live birth were included for the analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1122 women were included for analysis. The median basal serum testosterone level was 0.53 (25-75th percentile: 0.40-0.67) nmol/L. Women with higher basal serum testosterone levels required a lower total dosage of gonadotrophin and a shorter duration of stimulation and had more oocytes retrieved. The cumulative live birth rates did not differ among women with serum testosterone levels in the four quartiles. Basal serum testosterone level was not a significant independent predictor of the cumulative live birth after adjusted for the women's age and number of normally fertilized oocytes in a binary logistic regression. The areas under the receiver operative characteristics (ROC) curves in predicting low or high ovarian response and the cumulative live birth were all below 0.6. CONCLUSION: Higher basal serum testosterone levels were associated with a better ovarian response but had no effect on the cumulative live birth rate of infertile women undergoing IVF.

Effect of vitamin D in addition to letrozole on the ovulation rate of women with polycystic ovary syndrome: protocol of a multicentre randomised double-blind controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Low vitamin D status is prevalent among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The objective of the study is to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on (1) the ovulation rate to letrozole and (2) other reproductive, endocrine and metabolic outcomes after 1 year of supplementation in women with PCOS. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. A total of 220 anovulatory women with PCOS diagnosed by the Rotterdam criteria will be recruited. They will be randomly assigned to either the (1) vitamin D supplementation group or (2) placebo group. Those in the vitamin D group will take oral Vitamin D3 50 000 IU/week for 4 weeks, followed by 50 000 IU once every 2 weeks for 52 weeks. Those who remain anovulatory after 6 months will be treated with a 6-month course of letrozole (2.5 mg to 7.5 mg for 5 days per cycle titrated according to response) for ovulation induction. The primary outcome is the ovulation rate. All statistical analyses will be performed using intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval was sought from the Institutional Review Board of the participating units. All participants will provide written informed consent before joining the study. The results of the study will be submitted to scientific conferences and peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04650880.

The effect of time interval of vaginal ring pessary replacement for pelvic organ prolapse on complications and patient satisfaction: A randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Limited data are available on the effect of the time interval of vaginal ring pessary replacement for pelvic organ prolapse (POP). This study investigated the effect of different replacement intervals on complications and patient satisfaction. STUDY DESIGN: A double-blinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary urogynecology center. Women with a vaginal ring pessary for POP (stage I to IV) were randomly allocated to two groups: 3-monthly or 6-monthly ring pessary replacement. All women were blinded to the replacement interval. Investigators were blinded during outcome assessment. Subjects were followed up for 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes were the complication rates and patient satisfaction scores at 6 months. Secondary outcomes were the change in patient-reported symptoms and staging of POP. RESULTS: Of 101 women were screened from June 2016 to November 2017, 60 were recruited and randomly allocated: 30 to the 3-monthly replacement group and 30 to the 6-monthly replacement group. The overall complication rate in the 6-monthly group was higher than that in the 3-monthly group at the third visit (9 [30%] vs. 3[10.3%]; OR 3.71; 95%CI 0.89-15.58), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.061). There were no statistically significant differences between groups in patient satisfaction scores, other prolapse-related symptoms or staging of POP. CONCLUSIONS: We provide evidence on the effect of replacement interval for a vaginal pessary on complications and patient satisfaction. A higher complication rate was found in the 6-monthly group than in the 3-monthly group, although the difference was not statistically significant. Patient satisfaction scores were similar in both groups.

Are women ready for more liberal delivery of emergency contraceptive pills?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the knowledge, use and attitudes towards emergency contraception (EC) among women attending family planning clinics. DESIGN: Self-administered questionnaire survey. SETTINGS: Eight birth control clinics and three youth health care centers of The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. SUBJECTS: A total of 2454 women aged 15 to 53 attending the clinics between 1 November 2003 and 13 December 2003 were recruited. RESULTS: A total of 1405 completed questionnaires were analyzed. 63.7% of women had heard of EC and 51.8% knew that they had to take it within 72 h. 15.7% had used EC before. More advertising on EC was considered desirable by 46.3% of subjects. 48.7% of subjects supported advanced provision of emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) and 25.7% supported over-the-counter sales. CONCLUSION: The awareness and use of EC were low in our study population. They were not ready for more liberal delivery of ECPs as less than 50% of women supported these new delivery modes and their knowledge on ECPs use was inadequate.