Hormonal patterns in infertile women with a deficient postcoital test

Twenty-two women in whom a routine infertility workup had shown no abnormality except for repeated deficient results in the postcoital test (PCT), the patterns of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), 17 beta-estradiol (E2), and progesterone (P) were examined during the follicular and periovulatory phases of the menstrual cycle. Cervical mucus (CM) characteristics were also investigated during the pre- and periovulatory phases and scored using a CM score and a sperm penetration meter (SPM) score. The results were compared with those of a control group of seven women with proven fertility. No differences were found between the CM scores of both groups, whereas the SPM score was lower (P less than 0.1) in the infertile group. The preovulatory serum levels of E2 were lower (P less than 0.1) in the infertile group, while the serum levels of PRL (P less than 0.1) and FSH (P less than 0.1) were constantly higher in this group. The mean serum levels of LH and P were almost equal in the two groups. It is concluded that a deficient result in the PCT can be indicative of deviated hormonal patterns in an infertile woman even when the routine fertility investigation is suggestive of a normal ovulatory cycle.