title: Clomiphene Citrate Treatment Cycle Outcomes of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Patients Based on Basal High Sensitive C-Reactive Protein Levels: A Cross-Sectional Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is highly associated with an ovulatory infertility, features of the metabolic syndrome, including obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Serum concentrations of high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were significantly higher in obese than in non-obese PCOS patients at baseline, suggesting a relationship between elevated hs-CRP levels and obesity. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether cycle day 3 hs-CRP levels before clomiphene citrate (CC) treatment would predict cycle outcomes in women with PCOS.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted among 84 infertile women with PCOS who were treated with CC at Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey, between January 2014 and January 2015. Based on the exclusion criteria, cycle outcomes of remaining 66 infertile women with PCOS treated with CC were analyzed. The hs-CRP levels and insulin resistance indexes were evaluated on day 3 of the CC treatment cycle. The primary outcome measures were number of preovulatory follicles measuring≥17 mm and pregnancy rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean ± SD age of the patients was 24.0 ± 3.8 years (range 18-36). The mean ± SD body mass index (BMI) of the patients was 25.7 ± 4.9 (range 17-43). Fifty patients developed dominant follicle (75%) and 5 patients established clinical pregnancy during the study (clinical pregnancy rate: 7%). The mean ± SD baseline hs-CRP, fasting insulin and Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) values of the patients with and without dominant follicle generation during treatment cycle were 6.42 ± 7.05 and 4.41 ± 2.95 (P=0.27), 11.61 ± 6.94 and 10.95 ± 5.65 (P=0.73), 2.68 ± 1.79 and 2.41 ± 1.30 (P=0.58), respectively. The mean ± SD baseline hs-CRP, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR values of the patients with and without clinical pregnancy establishment following treatment cycle were 6.30 ± 2.56 and 5.90 ± 6.57 (P=0.89), 11.60 ± 7.54 and 11.44 ± 6.61 (P=0.95), 2.42 ± 1.51 and 2.63 ± 1.70 (P=0.79), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we did not observe a predictive value of cycle day 3 hs-CRP levels on preovulatory follicle development and pregnancy rates among infertile PCOS patients treated with CC. Also, no relationship between HOMA-IR values and dominant follicle generation or clinical pregnancy establishment was demonstrated in our study, confirming the previous studies emphasizing the neutral effect of metformin utilization before and/or during ovulation induction to pregnancy rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kahyaoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer Hamid
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Yumuşak
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sebnem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Meryem Kuru
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Pekcan
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Merve
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erel
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahmut Nedim
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Cicek
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erkaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yasemin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tasci
keywords: CReactive Protein; Clomiphene; Ovulation Induction; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome