Young patients with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing assisted reproductive treatments: a preliminary report

Young assisted-reproduction patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) are one of the most challenging issues for IVF specialists. A retrospective study of 70 assisted reproduction patients younger than 35 years with DOR determined based on antral follicle count was conducted, investigating: (i) correlation of day 3 FSH measurement with antral follicle count; and (ii) cycle outcome of young DOR patients compared with 53 young assisted reproduction patients with normal ovarian reserve (NR). DOR was considered as antral follicle count of <6 per ovary. Day 3 FSH in the DOR group was significantly higher than in the NR group (8.3 and 6.6 mIU/ml respectively; P < 0.05). Implantation rates between the groups were similar (15% in DOR and 18% in NR). Pregnancy rate was 35.8% in the DOR group, significantly lower than that of the NR group, which was 54.7% (P = 0.028). Although the pregnancy rate was significantly lower in the DOR group compared with the NR group, the statistically insignificant difference in implantation rates demonstrated that the problem in young DOR patients was mainly the number of retrieved oocytes. Therefore, such couples should be informed that lower oocyte numbers will result in statistically lower, but still encouraging, pregnancy rates. Basal FSH should also be measured during evaluation as an adjunct to antral follicle count.