Continuous Body Temperature Monitoring to Improve the Diagnosis of Female Infertility.

Abstract

Introduction Ovulatory dysfunction is a major cause of female infertility. We evaluated the use of continuous body temperature monitoring with a vaginal biosensor to improve standard diagnostic procedures for determining ovulatory dysfunction. Material and Methods This prospective interventional study was performed in a reproductive medicine department of a university hospital. The menstrual cycles of 51 women with infertility were monitored and analysed using three different strategies: sonographic and hormonal assessment (standard approach), continuous core body temperature measurement and analysis using the algorithm of OvulaRing, and lowest daily body temperature measurement monitored with a vaginal biosensor and analysed based on the body temperature curves used in natural family planning. Results Statistically significant differences were found in the temperature curves of women with luteal phase deficiency and polycystic ovary syndrome compared to women with normal menstrual cycles. The analysis of individual cyclofertilograms can be used to detect cycle phases and estimate the date of ovulation. Conclusions Continuous body temperature monitoring with a vaginal biosensor can improve the standard diagnostic procedures used to determine ovulatory dysfunction, especially if dysfunction is due to luteal phase deficiency and polycystic ovary syndrome. Analysis of the lowest daily body temperature combined with the basal body temperature measurements used in fertility awareness methods may be equieffective to continuous body temperature measurements with OvulaRing. The results of this study show that a revised diagnostic approach using fewer hormonal assessments combined with continuous body temperature monitoring can reduce the number of appointments in an infertility clinic as well as the costs.