title: Empty follicle syndrome: successful treatment in a recurrent case and review of the literature.
abstract: Empty follicle syndrome is a condition in which no oocytes are retrieved after an apparently adequate ovarian response to stimulation and meticulous follicular aspiration. It is a rare condition of obscure etiology. A patient with primary infertility who underwent seven assisted reproductive technique cycles is described. In spite of a satisfactory ovarian response, aspiration yielded no oocytes in four cycles and 1-4 low quality oocytes in three cycles. In the index treatment cycle, ovulation was triggered using GnRH agonist 40 h prior to ovum pickup and hCG was added 6 h after the first trigger. Eighteen oocytes were recovered, of which 16 were mature and were inseminated by ICSI. Two embryos were transferred 48 h after aspiration and nine embryos were cryopreserved. The patient conceived and delivered a healthy boy at 38 weeks of gestation. The literature is reviewed and possible etiologies and treatment options of this enigmatic syndrome are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Fertility and In-Vitro Fertilization Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ha'Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel. ronitbeck@gmail.com
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beck-Fruchter
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavee
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Geslevich
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shalev
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005260:Female; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000819:agonists; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009865:Oocytes; D010049:Ovarian Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D010062:Ovulation Induction / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone