A Comparison of Color Doppler Sonography Findings in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Patients and Healthy Women

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in reproductive-age women. The assessment of uterine and ovarian artery resistance indices (RI) can provide additional information on pathophysiology of the syndrome, and can be applied as a diagnosis criterion in suspected cases of PCOS. This study aims to compare the parameters of uterine artery blood flow and ovarian stromal artery in PCOS patients and healthy women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 20 women with PCOS (PCOS group) and 20 healthy women (control group). In the initial evaluations, age, body mass index, levels of follicle stimulating and luteinizing hormones, as well as severity of hirsutism and acne were recorded. Then, ovarian volume, uterine and ovarian artery RI and the rate of vascularization of ovarian stromal arteries were measured and compared with each other using Gray-scale and color Doppler sonography (CDS). FINDINGS: Uterine artery RI on both sides in the PCOS patients (0.94) was significantly higher than the healthy women (0.86) (p<0.001). Ovarian artery RI on both sides in the PCOS group (0.65) was lower than the control group (0.71) (p<0.001). The rate of vascularization of ovarian stromal arteries was higher in the PCOS patients (45%), as compared to the healthy women (0%) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: According to the CDS findings, ovarian stromal and uterine blood flow parameters were significantly different in the PCOS and control groups.