RCT to evaluate the influence of adjuvant medical treatment of peritoneal endometriosis on the outcome of IVF

STUDY QUESTION Does a 3-month adjuvant hormonal treatment of mild peritoneal endometriosis after laparoscopic surgery influence the outcome of IVF stimulation in terms of number of mature oocytes obtained per cycle? SUMMARY ANSWER Complementary medical treatment of mild peritoneal endometriosis does not influence the number of oocytes per treatment cycle. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Endometriosis is a disease known to be related to infertility. However, the influence of superficial endometriosis—and its treatment—is still a matter of debate. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION A prospective controlled, randomized, open label trial was performed between February 2012 and March 2014 and embryological and clinical outcomes were measured. Patients with laparoscopically diagnosed peritoneal endometriosis (n= 120) were treated by laser surgery after which they were sequentially randomized by computer-generated allocation to one of the two groups. The primary outcome of the trial was the number of Metaphase II (MII) oocytes. Sample size was chosen to detect a difference of two MII oocytes with a power of 80%. The control group (Group B) received the classical long protocol IVF stimulation, whereas the research group (Group A) had an additional pituitary suppression, of 3 months using a long-acting GnRH agonist, prior to IVF. PARTICIPANTS/ MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS A total of 120 patients were included in the study, 61 of them in the study group and 59 patients in the control gr...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Tags: Infertility Source Type: research