ESTIMATION OF OVULATION PHASE BY SERIAL TESTS OF CERVICAL AND VAGINAL GLUCOSE

Abstract

Estimation of the ovulation phase in 343 private patients was carried out by serial tests of cervical and vaginal glucose. It was determined that cyclic changes in cervical and vaginal glucose parallel estrogen levels with a peak occurring at or before ovulation. A plastic applicator stick provided with a cotton-tip impregnated with a glucose oxidase system (Ovutest) was used to measure these glucose levels. A special chart the Ovutest-basal body temperature Colorgraph (Ovutest-BBT Colorgraph) was devised which facilitates the recording of the daily color fluctuations and the BBT by the patients. The peak cervical glucose reactions coincided in 67% with other presumptive tests for ovulation that depend on the estrogen level. The use of the combined Ovutest-BBT Colorgraph by the infertile patient will enable her to define the ovulation phase in 77.5% of the cycles as against 60% for the Ovutest alone or 51% for the BBT graph alone. It is noted that while the test is of use to infertile patients it is of little value in the avoidance of conception since conception may occur just prior to the rise in color or where there is no vaginal color correlation to ovulation.