Michelle Emblenton, a biochemist at inviTRA, tells us if it is possible to prevent ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or OHSS:
The first step we need to take in order to prevent OHSS is to look at the patients who have a higher risk of developing this syndrome. To do this, we need to look at the risk factors, which involve:
A patient of a young age, under 30 years old.
If a patient has polycystic ovary syndrome.
In cases where the patient has a low BMI.
In cases where there is a high antral follicle count or there have been previous instances of OHSS.
If on the day that the hCG is administered the patient gives a measurement of increased levels of estradiol, it is also a risk factor.In general, the ovarian stimulation procedure should be monitored carefully and closely in all patients to avoid any potential complications such as OHSS. In this way, if the patient is giving an excessive ovarian response, the specialist can act quickly to prevent this from happening. One way of doing this is to alter slightly the protocol of ovarian stimulation by administering different kinds of medication. Ovarian stimulation can be performed with GnRH antagonists and then stimulated with GnRH agonist, which avoids having to usehCG to induce the maturation of the follicles. For patients who have polycystic ovary syndrome there is also a technique known as IVM, which is in vitro maturation of the oocytes. In this case, immature oocytes are taken from the body and matured outside in the laboratory.
This avoids ovarian stimulation protocols from having to be performed. However, this treatment is not a commonplace one in all fertility clinics and it hasn't been shown to increase success rates of the treatment. If OHSS does develop, another option is to take the embryos and cryopreserve them via vitrification for future use instead of transferring them in this cycle. When the situation has cleared and the patient is now free from the OHSS, the embryo transfer can be programmed without any risks to the patient.
