Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: To study association of endometrial thickness measured on ovulation induction (OI) day with cycle outcome after ICSI.

Subjects and methods: It was a quasi experimental design carried out in an infertility clinic from July 2011 till June 2012. The treatment comprised of down regulation of ovaries, controlled ovarian stimulation, oocyte pick up, IVF, embryo (blastocysts) transfer followed by confirmation of pregnancy with beta hCG more than 25 mIU/ml. On OI, before human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) injection, endometrial thickness was measured by trans vaginal scan and serum; estradiol (E₂), progesterone (P) and interleukin 1β (IL1β) were measured by Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay. The cut off value of endometrial thickness for pregnancy was evaluated by receiver operating curve (ROC) and characteristics of stratified groups were compared on the basis of Student’s t-test.

Results: Results of 282 couples on the basis of ROC stratified patients into two groups; Group A; non pregnant=159) with a cut off thickness of <8 and group B 123 pregnant patients with ≥8 mm thickness. A high E₂, IL1β and less P on OI (P<0001) was found in pregnant patients.

Conclusion: The endometrial thickness of 8 mm was associated with a positive pregnancy outcome after ICSI. These patients showed better oocyte parameters, number of embryos, raised peak E₂ and IL1β and less P levels on OI day.

Key Words

ICSI, ovulation induction, serum estradiol, serum progesterone, serum interleukin 1β, endometrial thickness, implantation rate