title: Assessment of ovarian reserve--should we perform tests of ovarian reserve routinely?
abstract: Women undergoing IVF are routinely subjected to one or more tests of ovarian reserve. The results of these tests are also being extrapolated to women attending infertility clinics and those planning to delay childbearing. This debate examines the predictive power of currently available tests of ovarian reserve and questions the value of subjecting women to ovarian reserve tests. We propose that in the absence of an agreement on (i) a definition of poor ovarian reserve, (ii) the population to be tested and (iii) which interventions are effective in women with poor ovarian reserve, routine ovarian reserve testing is unhelpful.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aberdeen University, Assisted Conception Unit, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Aberdeen, UK. abha.maheshwari@abdn.ac.uk
authors.forename: Abha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maheshwari
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: Siladitya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
mesh_terms: D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D005300:Fertility Agents, Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000503:physiopathology; D010053:Ovary / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D005300:Fertility Agents, Female; D004958:Estradiol; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone