| Study | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|
| Aflatoonian 2014 | Population were vitamin D‐deficient |
| Aksoy 2010 | Not a randomised study |
| Al‐Omari 2003 | Non‐randomised trial. "Forty‐two infertile PCOS were divided into three groups". |
| Ardabili 2012 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review. |
| Asadi 2014 | Vitamin D not given orally but by injection into the muscle |
| Baillargeon 2004 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review |
| Benelli 2016 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review |
| Bonakdaran 2012 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review |
| Cheang 2008 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review |
| Ciotta 2012 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review |
| Costantino 2009 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review |
| Crha 2003 | Not an RCT. "patients for the supplemented and control sets were selected by the case‐control method according to their age and smoking or non‐smoking habits." |
| Elgindy 2010 | Participants were fertile women with infertile male partners. |
| Elnashar 2007 | Interventions N‐acetyl‐cysteine versus metformin |
| Farzadi 2006 | The intervention versus control used in this trial was metformin versus placebo |
| Firouzabadi 2012 | 83% of the women enrolled were vitamin D‐deficient |
| Genazzani 2008 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is inappropriate for inclusion in this review |
| Hashim 2010 | Interventions N‐acetyl‐cysteine plus clomiphene citrate versus metformin plus clomiphene citrate |
| Hebisha 2016 | Enrolled women who attended infertility clinic due to male factor issues |
| Henmi 2003 | Described as randomised, but authors confirmed the process of allocation as "alternative treatments". Additionally, 28/46 in the placebo arm withdrew because of travel difficulties and movement out of the study area. No withdrawals from the treatment arm were reported. There was no Intention‐to‐treat. |
| Hernández‐Yero 2012 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Immediata 2014 | Wrong comparison; Inositol vs metformin |
| Iuorno 2002 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Jamilian 2016 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review. |
| Jamilian 2016a | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Kamencic 2008 | This trial included women with endometriosis, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Kilicdag 2005 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Le Donne 2012 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Li 2013 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Moosavifar 2010 | Participants were not subfertile women; they were partners of subfertile men |
| Nazzaro 2011 | Not randomised. Attempted to contact authors regarding sequence allocation via email 10 November 2011 |
| Nestler 1999 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Nestler 2001 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Nichols 2010 | Lead investigator confirmed (May 2010). Stated that the trial was abandoned before recruitment because of lack of funding |
| Nordio 2012 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Oner 2011 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Pal 2016 | A secondary analysis of an RCT measuring ovulation induction (OI) outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). |
| Papaleo 2007 | Not a randomised controlled trial |
| Papaleo 2008 | Interventions myo‐inositol plus folic acid versus clomiphene citrate |
| Pasha 2011 | Inappropriate population |
| Pizzo 2014 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Raffone 2010 | Interventions myo‐inositol plus folic acid versus metformin |
| Ruder 2014 | A secondary analysis of an RCT on the cost‐effectiveness of fast track to IVF |
| Salem 2012 | Different doses of clomiphene in each arm, i.e. L‐carnitine 3 gm plus clomiphene 100 mg (n = 85) versus clomiphene 150 mg (n = 85) |
| Santanam 2003 | The population included here were women with endometriosis, and the trial aimed to show differences in inflammatory markers. These women were not attending a fertility clinic |
| Taheri 2015 | Population is Vitamin D‐deficient |
| Tamura 2008 | A quasi‐randomised trial. "Patients were divided into two groups". Email sent asking about randomisation but undeliverable. Letter sent to University of Texas 12 January 2012. Letter returned to sender 17 February 2012. |
| Twigt 2011 | Participants were randomly assigned to different stimulation protocols and not to folic acid. All participants took folic acid |
| Vargas 2011 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
| Yoon 2010 | This trial included women with PCOS, but they were not intending to become pregnant. Therefore, the population is not suitable for inclusion in this review |
PCOS: poly cystic ovarian syndrome
RCT: random controlled trial