The long-term outcome of 946 consecutive couples visiting a fertility clinic in 2001–2003
2011
Donckers, Janneke | Evers, Johannes L.H. | Land, Jolande A.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the outcome of fertility work-up, treatment, and dropout in a cohort of subfertile couples in a well-defined area in Western Europe. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Maastricht University Medical Center. PATIENT(S): Subfertile couples referred by their general physician between 2001 and 2003. INTERVENTION(S): Demographic data, findings of the fertility investigation, and outcome of treatment were entered prospectively into a database. Follow-up was performed until November 2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Diagnosis, treatment, dropout rate, pregnancy rate, and live-birth rate. RESULT(S): During the study period, 946 couples were referred, of whom 17% dropped out. Follow-up was complete in 94% of couples. Spontaneous pregnancies occurred in 28% of all couples, and there were 32% treatment-dependent pregnancies. IVF (51% live births in couples treated) and no treatment/expectant management (50%) were the most effective treatments. CONCLUSION(S): After 5–8 years, 51% of couples referred for subfertility had at least one live birth.
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