Transvaginal color Doppler determination of the ovarian and uterine blood flow characteristics in polycystic ovary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine blood flow characteristics of ovarian and uterine arteries in patients with endocrinologically and clinically confirmed polycystic ovary disease (PCOD) in comparison with blood flow parameters observed in patients with spontaneous ovulatory cycles.
DESIGN: Controlled clinical study.
SETTING: Patients from Infertility Service in a tertiary care institution. PATIENTS: Forty patients with confirmed PCOD and 50 control patients in various phases of spontaneous menstrual cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Using transvaginal color Doppler sonography to determine ovarian morphology, ovarian blood vessel visualization rates, and ovarian and uterine arteries blood flow parameters (resistance index, pulsatility index, and maximal peak velocity). These parameters were correlated with serum hormone levels.
RESULTS: Polycystic ovaries showed typical vascular pattern: increased stromal vascularity, a positive correlation between increased blood velocities and serum LH levels, and a trend toward lower resistance index and pulsatility index values, whereas uterine arteries revealed significantly increased resistance index and pulsatility index values.
CONCLUSIONS: The observed specific intraovarian and uterine vascular pattern in PCOD patients may provide additional data for conventional endocrinologic and ultrasonic diagnostic methods for PCOD.