Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2012 Nov;29(11):1249-54.
doi: 10.1007/s10815-012-9869-9. Epub 2012 Oct 13.

Follicular flushing during oocyte retrieval: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Matheus Roque  1 , Marcos Sampaio, Selmo Geber
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Follicular flushing during oocyte retrieval: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Matheus Roque et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the literature and identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs), in order to answer if performing follicular flushing during the oocyte retrieval may improve the assisted reproductive technologies (ART) outcomes.

Methods: An exhaustive electronic search was performed using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Only RCTs comparing follicular flushing to aspiration only during ART, were included. We included 5 trials, with a total of 482 patients randomized, with median ages ranging from 30.5 to 37.1.

Results: The data analyses did not show significant differences regarding live birth rate, clinical pregnancies rates, and the number of oocytes retrieved. The duration of oocyte retrieval was significantly increased in the follicular flushing group.

Conclusions: The results from this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that there is no advantage to use of routine follicular flushing during OR in an unselected group of patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart for the trial identification and selection process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot comparing the live birth rate in the follicular flushing group versus aspiration only group
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest plot comparing the clinical pregnancy rate in the follicular flushing group versus aspiration only group
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Forest plot comparing the number of oocytes retrieved in the follicular flushing group versus aspiration only group
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Forest plot comparing the procedure time in the follicular flushing group versus aspiration only group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bagtharia S, Haloob ARK. Is there a benefit from routine follicular flushing for oocyte retrieval? J Obstet Gynaecol. 2005;25:374–376. doi: 10.1080/01443610500118970. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bassil S, Godin PA, Donnez J. Outcome of in-vitro fertilization through natural cycles in poor responders. Hum Reprod. 1999;14:1262–1265. doi: 10.1093/humrep/14.5.1262. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Biljan MM, Dean N, Hemmings R, Bissonnette F, Tan SL. Prospective randomized trial of the effect of two flushing media on oocyte collection and fertilization rates after in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 1997;68:1132–1134. doi: 10.1016/S0015-0282(97)00391-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Daya S, Gunby J, Hughes EG, Collins JA, Sagle MA, YoungLai EV. Natural cycles for in-vitro fertilization: cost-effectiveness analysis and factors influencing outcome. Hum Reprod. 1995;10:1719–1724. doi: 10.1093/HUMREP/10.6.1392. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hussein E, Balen AH, Tan SL. A prospective study comparing the outcome of oocytes retrieved in the aspirate with those retrieved in the flush during transvaginal ultrasound directed oocyte recovery for in-vitro fertilization. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1992;99:841–844. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1992.tb14417.x. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources