title: Predictive value of endometrial thickness, pattern and sub-endometrial blood flows on the day of hCG by 2D doppler in in-vitro fertilization cycles: A prospective clinical study from a tertiary care unit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the role of endometrial thickness, pattern and sub-endometrial blood flows measured by 2D power Doppler ultrasound to predict pregnancy during in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, non-randomized clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective observational study. A total of 101 infertile women were recruited from our IVF-ET program from January to December, 2009. Women with tubal factor, male factor and unexplained infertility were included in the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age was 35 years and mean duration of infertility was 8 years. Seventy five (74.25%) patients had primary infertility and 26 (25.74%) had secondary infertility. The mean endometrial thickness was 8.1 mm and endometrial blood flow was in Zone I in 18 patients, 28 patients had blood flow in Zone II and 54 had in Zone III. Overall, 27 (26.73%) patients conceived and in these women the endometrial thickness was between 6 and 12 mm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With a thin endometrium (≤7 mm) and no-triple-line endometrial pattern coexisting in an in-vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) candidate, cryopreservation should be recommended. With a thin endometrium and a good texture (triple-line), other prognostic factors, such as embryo quality, should be taken into account. The endometrial vascularity has a useful predictive value on the implantation rate in IVF cycles irrespective of the morphological appearance of the endometrium. However, further study is needed to make a definitive conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Neeta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Anupama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahadur
authors.forename: Suneeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mittal
authors.forename: Neena
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.forename: Ashok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhatt