title: The efficacy of metformin in pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a meta-analysis of clinical trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The role of metformin in the treatment of pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is controversial. Therefore, we evaluated whether the use of metformin during pregnancy in women with PCOS could reduce pregnancy-related complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE was searched to retrieve relevant trials. In addition, reviews and reference lists of the retrieved articles were scanned for further appropriate studies. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of complications of pregnancy, which included early pregnancy loss (EPL), gestational diabetes (GDM), pre-eclampsia (PE), and pre-term delivery (PD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, eight studies with 1106 patients were included. The pooled odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) of outcome for pregnant women with PCOS prescribed metformin were 0.32 (0.19-0.55) for EPL, 0.37 (0.25-0.56) for GDM, 0.53 (0.30-0.95) for PE and 0.30 (0.13-0.68) for PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Metformin therapy throughout pregnancy decreased the OR of EPL, GDM, PE, and PD in pregnant PCOS women with no serious detrimental side effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Second Affiliated Hospital ZheJiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, 88 Jiefang Rd, Zhejiang 310009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008687:Metformin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D008687:Metformin