Comparison of In-Vitro Maturation and In-Vitro Fertilization in Infertile Females with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Both in-vitromaturation and in-vitro fertilization have been used successfully to treat females with polycystic ovarian syndrome, who plan to have child. This study compared outcome of these two approaches to fertilize females with polycystic ovary side effects.

This prospective study was conducted at Vali-Asr reproductive health research center and included all females with polycystic ovarian syndrome, who underwent in-vitro maturation or in-vitro fertilization from January 2005 to January 2008. Measurements included demographic data, total cost (including drug and laboratory procedures), outcome (chemical and clinical pregnancy), and systemic complication (ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome), obtained from the patients’ clinical files. Patients were informed about the procedures, side effects and goals, and the signed consent form for surgical approaches and use of their data in medical research. Finally, these variables were compared between the two groups.

The in-vitro maturation and in-vitro fertilization groups included 20 and 22 patients, respectively. The range of body mass index was between 17.4 and 28.3 kg/m2 and the mean age of the patients was 29.35 ± 4.94 and 28.95 ± 3.84 years, respectively (P > 0.05). The total cost was significantly lower in in-vitro maturation group compared to in-vitro fertilization (201.6 ± 60.1 USD versus 380.5 ± 143.8 USD, respectively, P < 0.001). Positive outcomes were achieved significantly more frequently with the in-vitro fertilization method (1 chemical and no clinical pregnancy in in-vitro maturation versus 7 and 6 in in-vitro fertilization group, respectively, P < 0.001). Although, the rate of ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome was higher in in-vitro fertilization than in in-vitro maturation approach, yet, it was not statistically significant (P = 0.233).

Our findings showed the superiority of execution of the in-vitro fertilization approach compared with the in-vitro maturation method in infertile females with polycystic ovary syndrome, who planned to have a child. However, in-vitro maturation approach is cheaper than in-vitro fertilization and is also associated with lower risk of ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome.