Evaluation of endometrioma size effect on ovarian reserve, embryo quality and pregnancy outcome after in vitro fertilization cycle; a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Investigation of endometrioma size and its laterality on the quality of the embryo in patients with endometrioma compared to healthy subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective and cross-sectional study, 70 patients with unilateral and bilateral endometrioma were recruited and compared with 70 age-matched infertile patients as the control group in terms of AMH before ovum pick-up, embryo quality as well as pregnancy outcome. Additionally, in the case group, we divided both unilateral (n = 32) and bilateral endometrioma patients (n = 38) into three groups based on the size of endometrioma. (1–3 cm, 3–6 cm, 6–10 cm) RESULTS: There was no difference in terms of age, BMI, parity, and age of menarche between the case and control groups. Moreover, no significant difference was observed in the baseline level of AMH between the case 2.96 ± 2.72 ng/dl (0.21–11.3) and control 2.73 ± 2.39 (0.21–12.8) groups. (P = 0.59) There was also no significant difference concerning AMH level between unilateral 3.58 ± 3.20 ng/dl (0.21–12.8) and bilateral endometrioma 2.45 ± 2.14 (0.21 − 0.20) groups. In terms of the quality and number of embryos, there was no significant difference between the case and control groups. (P = 0.30) Although the AMH level decreased with the increase in endometrioma size, this difference was not statistically significant. (P = 0.07) There was no significant difference in terms of the embryo quality between the groups based on the size of endometrioma. (P = 0.77) In addition, no significant difference was observed between the case and control groups in the terms of birth weight and pregnancy complications, such as premature delivery, cesarean section rate, neonatal respiratory distress, jaundice, as well as hospitalization rate. Head circumference of the newborns was higher in the endometrioma group while their Apgar score was lower in the case compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: The presence of endometrioma by itself does not affect the main result of IVF procedures, including the number and quality of embryos and pregnancy outcome. Thus, IVF and embryo preservation and even pregnancy before surgery seem to be reasonable for endometriotic patients.