Prediction of pregnancy in infertile women based on the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's revised classification of endometriosis

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the empirical relationship between the revised American Society for Reproductive Medicine's classification of endometriosis and pregnancy rates after treatment.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Patient(s): Patients seen by four practicing physicians.

Intervention(s): Medical and/or surgical therapy for endometriosis.

Main outcome measure(s): Pregnancy defined as ongoing or delivered.

Result(s): There were no significant differences in pregnancy rates across stages of endometriosis. There was a slight decline in pregnancy rates among patients with Stage IV endometriosis, but statistical significance was not achieved.

Conclusion(s): The use of an arbitrary weighted system for assigning scores to individual categories of disease, or for computing a total score, has limited the overall effectiveness of the classification system to predict pregnancy.