Evidence-based reproductive medicine: a critical appraisal

Evidence-based medicine has become the golden standard of good medical practice. I analysed meta-analyses and systematic reviews, the cornerstones of evidence-based medicine, pertaining to two important problems in in vitro fertilization: failed implantation and poor ovarian response to ovarian stimulation. Numerous interventions and procedures have been tried to facilitate implantation and to enhance the ovarian response to stimulation. Notwithstanding the fact that many clinical trials have been performed, very few procedures can as yet stand the critical test of evidence-based medicine. A plea is made for co-ordination between clinicians and reviewers and co-operation between infertility centres to combine their efforts to set up sufficiently powered clinical trials to arrive at more solid evidence for a number of interventions in in vitro fertilization programmes.