Is diagnostic gonadotrophin stimulation useful?

Urinary excretion of oestrogens in response to stimulation with a standardized dose of gonadotrophin has been used previously in the differential diagnosis of oligomenorrhoea/amenorrhoea. Patients with polycystic ovarian disease were said to have a characteristic excessive response. In the present study, some patients with laparoscopically proven polycystic ovaries did not show such an excessive response, while others with laparoscopically normal ovaries did. A high LH/FSH ratio correlated well with the laparoscopic finding of polycystic ovaries. It is concluded that where there are adequate facilities for diagnostic laparoscopy and determination of plasma gonadotrophins, there is no further place for the routine use of the standardized gonadotropin stimulation test in the evaluation of suspected polycystic ovarian disease.