We continue our articles about pregnancy with a diagnosis of PCOS. You can read the first part here.
In Chile, a plenary session was held in 2002, the result of which was the first summation of data on the use of CC for ovulation induction, including in PCOS. It was noted that CC can be used in PCOS as monotherapy, in combination with gonadotropins, and in case of detected insulin resistance (IR) (using Caro and HOMA indices) — with metformin (MF). The main side effects of CC remain-the risk of multiple pregnancies, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and ovarian cancer. Later, studies began to appear in which it was noted that CC is most often ineffective at low doses in women with PCOS and obesity, and at higher doses (> 150 mg) it is often accompanied by hyperstimulated ovarian syndrome. And in such cases, a combination of CC and MF is more effective.
The important question remains, what is the percentage of pregnancy in women with PCOS during CC treatment? It was found that the restoration of ovulation with the use of CC occurs in 80%, and pregnancy-only in 35-40% of patients. The authors themselves associated this with the antiestrogen effect of CC at the level of the endometrium and cervical mucus. In addition, 20-25% of women with PCOS are clomiphene-resistant, and, as a rule, these are women with obesity, IR and severe hyperandrogenism.
Due to the need to discuss issues and summarize data on the treatment of PCOS in Greece, an ESHRE/ASRM consensus was held in 2007, which resulted in a synthesis of the data available at that time. The first-line drug was called CC, the second-line drug was gonadotropins, the next step in case of ineffectiveness of conservative therapy is the surgical method of treatment-electrocauterization of both ovaries (ECOI). The use of MF in women with PCOS should be limited and used only in those who have been diagnosed with a violation of glucose tolerance (HTH). The insufficient number of studies conducted in the field of biguanide use does not give a complete picture of this group of drugs for ovulation induction.
In 2009, the data of a comparative study on the use of CC, MF and their combination for ovulation induction were published. The randomized study involved 115 women who were divided into three groups. In the MF group, ovulation was achieved in 23.7%, in the CC group-in 59%, and in the combination of these drugs — in 68.4%, the birth rate was 7.9%, 15.4%, 21.1%, respectively.
Due to the lack of algorithms for the treatment of women with PCOS (taking into account age, anamnesis of the disease, the presence or absence of IR, etc.), the age of initiation of CC therapy is determined individually for each patient. In 2009, Badawy et al. published the results of a study in which they showed that the earlier a CT scan is prescribed in women with PCOS, the more pronounced the follicular growth in the ovaries, the thickness of the endometrium will be and, thus, the percentage of pregnancy will increase.
to be continued…