Table 1.
Comparisons of pre- and post-DHEA cycles in 25 women with DOR*
| Pre-DHEA | Post-DHEA | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle cancellations (%) | 32.0 | 4.3 | 0.02 |
| Number oocytes | 3.4 ± 0.5 | 4.4 ± 0.5 | <0.05 |
| Fertilized oocytes (n) | 1.4 ± 0.3 | 3.0 ± 0.5 | <0.001 |
| (%) | 39 | 67 | <0.001 |
| Day 3 blastomeres | 3.4 ± 0.4 | 4.7 ± 0.5 | 0.01 |
| embryo grade | 2.9 ± 0.1 | 3.4 ± 0.1 | 0.02 |
| Cumulative embryoscore/oocytes | 8.4 ± 1.5 | 16.1 ± 1.6 | 0.001 |
| Number of transferred embryos | 1.4 ± 0.2 | 2.4 ± 0.3 | 0.005 |
| Normal day 3 embryos | 1.2 ± 0.2 | 2.7 ± 0.4 | 0.001 |
* 25 patients were evaluated in their respective IVF cycle outcomes pre- and post-DHEA. This study design potentially biases outcome against positive DHEA effects since patients who entered DHEA supplementation after a prior failed IVF cycle, quite obviously, reflected, in view of their prior IVF treatment failure, a negatively selected patient population. Pre- and post DHEA cycles occurred at ages 39 ± 0.8 and 40.4 ± 0.8 years, respectively, also mildly biasing the study against positive DHEA findings. Post-DHEA patients were on supplementation 17.6 ± 2.13 weeks by time of second IVF cycle. Data extracted from Barad and Gleicher [16].