Recurrent abnormal follicular maturation and ovarian stimulation for in-vitro fertilization.

A total of 1078 cycles were stimulated for in-vitro fertilization between 1 January 1986 and 31 July 1987. One-hundred-and-ninety-six cycles had to be cancelled because of an abnormal ovarian response (18.2%). The majority of these cancellations were due to the phenomenon of follicular atresia (45%) or the absence of follicular growth (30%). Bad responder patients who had undergone cancellation during at least two successive cycles, when compared with normal responder patients, were somewhat older and had more frequent periovarian adhesions and ovulatory defects. The use of a GnRH agonist allowed correction of a certain number of ovarian response inadequacies, but follicular atresia and absence of folliculogenesis remained frequent phenomena.