Comparison of 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, and vascular ultrasonographic parameters for endometrial receptivity between 2 consecutive stimulated in vitro fertilization cycles.

OBJECTIVE

We compared the ultrasonographic parameters for endometrial receptivity between 2 consecutive in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles in the same patients.

METHODS

Patients who had undergone 2 in vitro fertilization cycles between November 2002 and December 2004 were recruited. A 3-dimensional ultrasonographic examination with power Doppler imaging was performed on the day of oocyte retrieval to determine the endometrial thickness, endometrial pattern, pulsatility and resistive indices of uterine vessels, endometrial volume, vascularization index, flow index, and vascularization flow index of endometrial and subendometrial regions.

RESULTS

Of 662 patients, 95 (14.4%) underwent 2 consecutive cycles using the same stimulation regimen during the study period. There were no significant differences in these ultrasonographic parameters between the first and second cycles. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for endometrial volume was significantly higher than that of other ultrasonographic parameters. The ICC for the endometrial thickness, uterine pulsatility index, and endometrial 3-dimensional power Doppler flow indices were similar.

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasonographic parameters for endometrial receptivity were comparable in the 2 consecutive stimulated cycles. The endometrial volume had the highest ICC among these ultrasonographic parameters and was most reproducible between 2 cycles.