The role of FSH to AMH ratio in poor prognosis patients undergoing ICSI cycle

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the number of oocyte retrieval and cycle cancellation using follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) ratio in poor prognosis patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment. Material and Methods: This retrospective study including fresh cycles was conducted in Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Training and Research Hospital, between January 2015 and October 2018. Women aged between 24 and 44 years were recruited and the baseline serum hormone levels, FSH/AMH ratio, and the antral follicle count were recorded. Number of retrieved oocytes, metaphase-II oocytes, fertilised oocytes, and the number and grade of the embryos were also recorded. Results: A total of 108 cycles, corresponding to 92 women with poor prognosis were eligible for analysis. The use of FSH/AMH ratio performed well in predicting retrieved oocyte count <5 with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.71-0.92]. A FSH/AMH ratio cut-off of 11.36 was set for the retrieval of <5 oocyte at oocyte pick-up (OPU) with 80% sensitivity and 87% specificity. The FSH/AMH cut-off value was 14.22 to differentiate cycle cancellation and no oocyte retrieval at OPU, with a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 44% (AUC of 0.71; 95% CI: 0.59-0.83). There was no correlation between FSH/AMH ratio and clinical pregnancy. Conclusion: The assessment of this simple ratio at the beginning of the cycle may help clinicians better anticipate gonadotropin stimulation treatment and better counsel patients about cycle cancellation and the expected oocyte yield.

Does Coronavirus Disease-19 Infection Affect Ovarian Reserve in Infertile Women? A Retrospective Study.

Background: Previous studies have revealed menstrual changes following coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) disease. The potential impact of COVID-19 on female reproductive organs, ovary in particular, has not been investigated thoroughly. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH) and oestradiol (E2) following COVID-19 disease as a surrogate for the detection of ovarian vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Settings and Design: In this retrospective study, hospital records of unexplained infertile women between 21 and 40 years old who have attended our institution's reproductive medicine unit for evaluation and/or treatment of infertility have been evaluated. Materials and Methods: Menstrual cycle day 2-5 serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone and E2 levels of 28 infertile women have been studied both before and after the COVID-19 disease to evaluate ovarian reserve before the ovulation induction treatment cycle. Statistical Analysis Used: The demographic characteristics and hormonal results of these 28 unexplained infertile women have been compared. The Shapiro-Wilk test has been used to evaluate the normal distribution of variables. Comparison of ovarian reserve markers which were established before and after COVID-19 infection has been performed using paired samples t-test. Results: All patients except one have shown mild COVID-19 symptoms and their infection courses have resulted in uneventful recovery. Serum FSH, LH and E2 levels of 24 (85%) and serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels of 4 (15%) patients have been evaluated before and after COVID-19 disease is statistically similar. Conclusion: COVID-19 disease or inflammatory response of the infection itself does not seem to affect pituitary gonadotropins and ovarian hormones in infertile women based on menstrual cycle day 2-5 serum FSH, LH, E2 and AMH levels. Further studies including higher patient numbers are urgently needed to clarify the potential effects of COVID-19 disease on the gonadal function of women.

May rotavirus vaccine be affect food allergy prevalence?

Incidence of food allergy (FA) during nursing period is 6-8% globally and It is reported %5,7 in Turkey. In our study, the aim is to determine whether the prevalence of food allergy (FA) increases in children vaccinated against rotavirus. The files of 681 infants who are still followed-up were retrospectively evaluated. Children who did not come to our clinic for all of their well-child follow-up visits were excluded from the study. Moreover, children diagnosed with allergy before vaccination and children with known gastrointestinal system disease were excluded from the study. The number of patients diagnosed with food allergy after being vaccinated against rotavirus was 12 (1.76%). Three children had a family history of allergy. Of 12 patients who were diagnosed after vaccination, 3 (n:104) were vaccinated with pentavalent vaccine and 9 (n:507) with monovalent vaccine. In the monovalent vaccination group, food allergy was found in 9 children (1.55%), and in the pentavalent vaccination group, food allergy was found in 3 children (2.88%). The difference between the two vaccination groups in terms of food allergy prevalence was not significant (p > .05). Although it is believed that food allergy, and even cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) prevalence increases in infants vaccinated against rotavirus, in this study, no significant increase was observed in the prevalence of food allergy after rotavirus vaccination. Both types of vaccine had similar rates to each other.

Intrauterine insemination versus timed intercourse in ovulation induction cycles with clomiphene citrate for polycystic ovary syndrome: A retrospective cohort study.

AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of intrauterine insemination (IUI) on clinical pregnancy rates in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing ovulation induction (OI) cycles. METHODS: We evaluated the medical records of one hundered and forty-seven infertil anovulatory women with PCOS who attended to the infertility outpatiens clinics of the current hospital. All women underwent either IUI or timed intercourse (TIC) following OI with clomiphene citrate (CC) according to their requests. Some demographic and clinical features, baseline hormone levels and treatment cycle characteristics were recorded for each woman. RESULTS: Of a total 147 cycles, 56 cycles were with IUI and 91 others with TIC. The IUI and TIC groups were similar in terms of age, BMI, gravidity numbers, parity numbers, number of abortion and infertility duration (p>0.05). There were also no significant differences in hormone parameters (p>0.05). Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the groups regarding semen parameters and weekly coit frequency. However, a significant difference was found in clinical pregnancy rates between the IUI group (48.2%) and the TIC group (11%) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Compared to TIC, IUI increases clinical pregnancy rates in infertile women with PCOS who underwent OI with CC.