Affiliations 

  • 1 PIVET Medical Centre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Fertility Centre, Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Pahang, Malaysia
  • 2 PIVET Medical Centre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; School of Biomedical Science, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Western Australia, Australia
  • 3 PIVET Medical Centre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  • 4 PIVET Medical Centre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; School of Biomedical Science, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: jlyovich@pivet.com.au
Reprod Biol, 2017 Mar;17(1):34-41.
PMID: 27964842 DOI: 10.1016/j.repbio.2016.11.004

Abstract

This seven-year retrospective study analysed the live birth rate (LBR) for women undergoing IVF treatment with various antral follicle counts (AFC). The LBR decreased with lower AFC ratings, and in 290 treatment cycles for women in the poorest AFC category, ≤4 follicles (group E), the LBR was the lowest at 10.7%. The pregnancy loss rate (PLR) significantly increased with poorer AFC categories, from 21.8% in AFC group A (≥20 follicles), to 54.4% in AFC group E (p<0.0001). This trend was repeated with advancing age, from 21.6% for younger women (<35years), to 32.9, 48.5 and 100% for ages 35-39, 40-44 and ≥45 years, respectively (p<0.0001). However, LBR within the specific AFC group E cohort was also age-dependent and decreased significantly from 30.0% for <35 years old, to 13.3, 3.9 and 0% for patients aged 35-39, 40-44 and ≥45 years, respectively. Most, importantly, LBR rates within these age groups were not dependent on the number of IVF attempts (1st, 2nd, 3rd or ≥4 cycles), which indicated that cycle number should not be the primary deciding factor for cessation of IVF treatment in responding women <45years old.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.