RESUMO
The aim of this study was to map out the extent of the physical complaints and emotional stress due to diagnostic routines of the infertility work-up. To this end a questionnaire was sent to 96 consecutive couples visiting an infertility clinic of a university hospital. The results indicate that women often have physical complaints as a result of the hysterosalpingography (59%) and the diagnostic laparoscopy (47%) and mostly experience these diagnostic procedures as very stressful. Both the postcoital test and the semen analysis caused a moderate amount of stress. The other diagnostic procedures, including physical examination of both sexes, recording of the basal temperature and taking blood for hormonal determinations, were accompanied by fewer complaints and much less stress. It is concluded that the role of the hysterosalpingography and the diagnostic laparoscopy in the routine infertility work-up needs to be reconsidered in view of the burden they pose to the women involved.
Assuntos
Infertilidade/diagnóstico , Transtornos Psicofisiológicos/psicologia , Estresse Psicológico/psicologia , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Histerossalpingografia/efeitos adversos , Histerossalpingografia/psicologia , Laparoscopia/efeitos adversos , Laparoscopia/psicologia , Masculino , Dor/etiologia , Dor/psicologia , Estatísticas não Paramétricas , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To develop a model that can predict the chance to conceive spontaneously in subfertile couples. DESIGN: In a cohort study, a consecutive series of patients consulting infertility was followed up. We related information from previous history, physical examination, postcoital tests (PCT), semen analyses, and sperm penetration meter tests with the occurrence of a spontaneous pregnancy. SETTING: Fertility center in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Nine hundred ninety-six couples consulting for infertility due to cervical hostility, male subfertility, or unexplained infertility. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Time between intake and occurrence of the first spontaneous pregnancy. RESULTS: Information from the previous history (duration of infertility, primary or secondary female infertility, age of the woman, fertility problems in male's family), the percentage motile sperm in the first semen analysis, and the result of the first PCT are sufficient to predict the chance to conceive. A pocket chart is presented for easy use of the model. CONCLUSIONS: With a limited amount of diagnostic information, the chance to conceive spontaneously can be predicted.
