Assessment of diagnostic competence of plasmatic androgens on polycystic ovary syndrome based on receiver operator characteristic curves.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to assess the diagnostic potency of different androgens in hyperandrogenaemia criterion on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) based on receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves analysis.
METHODS: We evaluated 55 PCOS patients and 27 healthy fertile women (control). Androgen evaluation included bio-available testosterone (BAT) by ammonium sulphate precipitation, Free Testosterone Index (FTI), androstenedione (A), total testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S).
RESULTS: The androgen tests with the best diagnostic capacities were FTI and BAT. Although T and A had similar diagnostic potencies, A detected 5% of PCOS patients that could not be recognised by FTI, BAT (%), or T. The association of FTI, BAT (%) and A identified 96.36% of the hyperandrogenaemic patients. DHEA-S showed a wide dispersion of values and therefore poor discriminatory competence. DISCUSSION: This study suggests that routine androgen evaluation in PCOS should include FTI, BAT and A to avoid misdiagnosis. ROC curve analysis of these tests on patients with the complete spectrum of PCOS phenotypes is needed to confirm these results.