Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Anti-Müllerian Hormone among Fertile and Infertile Women in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: Is there A Difference?

Efficacy and pregnancy outcomes of hysteroscopic surgery combined with progestin as fertility-sparing therapy in patients with early stage endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia

PURPOSE

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of hysteroscopic curettage combined with progestin therapy in young patients with early-stage endometrial cancer (EC) and endometrial atypical hyperplasia (EAH) who wished to preserve their fertility.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study included 16 patients with early-stage EC and 25 patients with EAH in Dalian Maternal and Child Health Hospital from August 2014 to October 2018. All patients received fertility-sparing therapy with hysteroscopic evaluation every 3 months until achieving complete response (CR). Demographic, clinical, and pathological data follow-up information as well as fertility outcomes was analyzed.

RESULTS

There were 92.6% (37/41) patients who achieved CR. The mean treatment duration to CR was 7.47 ± 2.91 months. BMI ≤ 30 kg/m² was associated with shorter treatment duration to achieve CR (P = 0.003). Among the patients who attempted to conceive, 30.3% (10/33) had successful pregnancy, and 18.2% (6/33) delivered live births. The implementation of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is closely associated with pregnancy (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The fertility-sparing therapy, hysteroscopic curettage combined with progestin therapy, of early young EC and EAH patients is safe and effective. BMI is the main factor affecting the duration of CR. After achieving CR, ART can significantly improve the pregnancy rate of these patients.

Fertility and pregnancy outcome among women undergoing assisted reproductive technology treatment in Windhoek, Namibia

PURPOSE

Infertility has been defined as a couple's failure to conceive after regular and unprotected coitus for 1 year or six months, depending on the age of the female counterpart. Although infertility can result from both the male and/or the female, often the female partner faces pressure since it is believed in some African cultures that a woman without children is like a tree without leaves. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of successful pregnancy outcomes among infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment at the Cape Windhoek Fertility Clinic.

METHODS

This was a prospective and descriptive cross-sectional case reference study encompassing 178 infertile women visiting the Cape Windhoek Fertility Clinic for ART treatment.

RESULTS

The vast majority of the participants (81.5%) were married women. From the 178 infertile women, 96 (53.9%) suffered from primary and 82 (46.1%) from secondary infertility. The predominant cause of complications for infertility among the women studied was defective ovulation (28.7%) and the most common ART treatment administered was IVF/ICSI (52.2%). Only a third (33.1%) of the women who received ART treatment eventually fell pregnant.

CONCLUSION

The outcome of this study may not give a clear indication of the prevalence of infertility among women in the entire Namibian nation due to the costs involved with ART treatment offered mainly at privately owned hospitals and/or clinics, thereby resulting in those who cannot afford treatment to be left out despite being infertile.