Does the presence of endometriosis cause a challenge for transvaginal oocyte retrieval? A comparison between patients with and without endometriosis

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare patients with and without endometriosis regarding performance rates, difficulties, andcomplications associated with transvaginal oocyte retrieval (TVOR) procedures.Material and Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at the In Vitro Fertilization Unit of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinologyand Infertility Department of a university hospital. Fifty-eight patients with endometriosis and 61 patients without endometriosis underwent TVORprocedures consecutively. Primary outcome measures were; number of needle entries per patient and performance rating defined as the totalnumber of oocytes retrieved per vaginal needle entry. The requirement for manual compression of the abdominal wall (assistance) to reach theovaries, procedure-related pain, and procedural complications were also evaluated.Results: The median number of needle entries through the vaginal wall per patient was comparable between the two groups (p=0.45).Performance rates were higher in the control group (p=0.001). Performance rates and total number of the needle entries through the vaginalwall were not significantly correlated with ovarian endometrioma (OMA) diameter (r=0.28; p=0.68; r=0.275, p=0.068, respectively) in theendometriosis group. Body mass index (BMI) scores were found to be correlated with the number of the needle entries and higher BMI scoreswere associated with higher numbers of vaginal wall punctures (p