Live Birth and Cumulative Live Birth Rates in Expected Poor Ovarian Responders Defined by the Bologna Criteria Following IVF/ICSI Treatment

OBJECTIVE: To determine the live birth and cumulative live birth rates of expected poor ovarian responders according to the Bologna criteria and to compare their outcomes with those of expected normal responders DESIGN: Retrospective analysis SETTING: University infertility clinic PATIENTS: A total of 1,152 subfertile women undergoing their first in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle INTERVENTIONS: Women were classified into 4 groups according to the Bologna criteria for comparison MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Live birth and cumulative live birth rates RESULTS: Women with expected poor response (POR) had the lowest live birth rate than the other 3 groups (23.8%, p = 0.031). Cumulative live birth rates were significantly lower in those with expected POR than those with expected normal ovarian response (NOR) (35.8% vs 62.8%, p<0.0001). In the subgroup analysis, the cumulative live birth rates in expected PORs were significantly lower in those who had ≤3 oocytes retrieved (18.6% for ≤3 oocytes vs 44.0% for >3 oocytes, p = 0.006) whereas the live birth rates in fresh cycle did not differ (17.8% vs 30.9%, p = 0.108). CONCLUSION: Women who were expected POR according to the Bologna criteria had lower live birth and cumulative live birth than expected NOR but they still can achieve reasonable treatment outcomes and IVF treatment should not be precluded.