Objectives: To evaluate the impact of pharmacological and surgical endometriosis treatment on IVF reproductive outcomes in patients with primary infertility.
Material and methods: The study, conducted over a five year period, included 73 patients with endometriosis associated primary infertility subjected to 77 cycles. Group I included patients treated for endometriosis before the IVF (subgroups A: surgical and pharmacological treatment and B: only surgical treatment). Group II included patients immediately subjected to IVF. Assessed outcomes were pregnancy rate (PR) per started cycle, fertilization rate (FR), implantation rate (IR) and live birth rate (LBR).
Results: Group IA included 25 patients, Group IB 21 and Group II 27 patients. FR and IR showed no significant differences between groups. PR was significantly higher in the Group I than Group II (49% vs 25%, p = 0.030). PR per started cycle was the highest in the Group IA and the lowest in the Group II (p = 0.040). LBR was significantly higher in whole Group I (p = 0.043) and subgroup IA (p = 0.020) than Group II. Group IA and IB did not differ regarding examined outcomes. Regression analysis showed that endometriosis pretreatment method can impact both achieving pregnancy (p = 0.036) and having a live born child (p = 0.008) after IVF. The combined surgical and pharmacological endometriosis treatment, shorter infertility duration, lower EFI score, using long protocol with FSH+HMG gonadotropins increase the probability of successful IVF.
Conclusions: A combined surgical and pharmacological endometriosis treatment had a positive impact on IVF reproductive outcomes, both on pregnancy and on live birth rates.
Keywords: IVF; endometriosis; infertility; minimally invasive surgery; reproductive outcome.