role of serum vascular endothelial growth factor in the prediction of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in women with polycysic ovarian syndrome

ABSTRACT

Background: Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome [OHSS] is an iatrogenic and potentially life-threatening complication of treatment with fertility drugs. Women with polycystic ovaries [PCO] and polycystic ovarian syndrome [PCOS] are at a particularly higher risk of developing OHSS. The traditional determinants viz, serum estradiol [E2] concentrations and the number of follicles on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin [hCG] administration are not only increasingly recognized that they do not adequately define the risks for this syndrome but also do not accurately predict its occurrence. On the other hand, numerous reports now emphasized the role of vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] as an important mediator of the syndrome and that it provides a nonsteroidal index of the ovarian response to gonadotrophin simulation