Perioperative androstenedione kinetics in women undergoing laparoscopic ovarian drilling: a prospective study

We evaluated perioperative androstenedione levels in laparoscopic ovarian drilling (LOD) for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and whether an intraoperative androstenedione change was predictive for spontaneous ovulation. In a prospective study, 21 anovulatory women with clomiphene citrate-resistant PCOS who underwent LOD and eight female controls who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for infertility were included. Perioperatively, blood was drawn one day before surgery, directly before skin incision, ten minutes after surgery, and after two days. Within three months, spontaneous ovulation occurred in 15 women (71.4 %). For both the PCOS and the control group, an androstenedione increase was found from one day before surgery to skin incision (p < 0.05). In PCOS women, there was an intraoperative androstenedione decrease (median 3.5, IQR 2.2-4.8 vs. median 2.6, IQR 1.4-2.6 ng/ml, p = 0.002). In multivariate analysis, only higher preoperative androstenedione (odds ratio, OR 6.53) and luteinizing hormone levels (OR 7.31), as well as secondary infertility (OR 5.40), were associated with higher rates of postoperative spontaneous ovulation (p < 0.001). Androstendione declines significantly during LOD. However, intraoperative kinetics are not useful for the prediction of spontaneous ovulation after LOD, in contrast to preoperative androstenedione and LH levels, as well as a history of previous pregnancies.