Minimal ovarian stimulation for IVF: appraisal of potential benefits and drawbacks

Abstract

Burgeoning literature over the past decade has well documented the complication of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). All clinicians involved in the management of infertile women should be expected to know the presentation and management of this serious condition. The contribution by Abramov et al. is useful as it presents a large retrospective analysis of virtually an entire country's worth of data from tertiary referral centres over a 10 year period (Abramov et al., 1999). However, I would disagree with several of the conclusions drawn by the authors and I would regard their data as being reassuring rather than a cause for concern. They describe an `epidemic' of OHSS. An epidemic would be defined as a widespread occurrence, or spread, of a disease. Even if the authors' estimation of a tripling of the number of cases of OHSS over a 10 year period is correct, this could hardly be considered an `epidemic'.