Background: Currently, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) is monitored by serum estradiol (E2) levels which are believed to primarily detect functional activity of follicles.
Objective: To evaluate estradiol level as a predictor of ovarian response and pregnancy outcome during COH in women from Gaza Strip.
Methods: This prospective cohort study consisted of 75 women attending in vitro fertilization (IVF) at Al-Basma Fertility Center in Gaza City. Blood withdrawal for E2 hormone measurement was performed in all the patients and the number of oocytes and embryos were recorded for each female and the occurrence of pregnancy was followed for three months. Obtained data were computer analyzed using SPSS statistical package version 18.
Results: The mean age of the study population was 29.2±5.9 years. Questionnaire interview showed that the cause of infertility was mostly referred to husbands. More than half of women seeking IVF had no children and had repeated IVF. The mean level of E2 showed the highest value of 2194.4 (pg/ml) at age group 26-35 years. However, the difference in E2 levels among the age groups was not significant (F= 0.940 and P= 0.395). When related to the number of oocytes retrieved, E2 level showed general increase with increase ovarian response, recording values of 1642.7, 1665.1, 2156.8 and 1798.7 pg/ml with 16 oocytes, respectively, but this change was not significant (F= 0.219 and P= 0.883). The mean level of E2 showed its maximum value of 2143.6 pg/ml in positive pregnancy. However the difference in E2 levels among the different categories of IVF outcome was not
