Comparison Of Pregnancy Outcomes And Obstetric Complications Between Frozen Embryo Transfer And Fresh Embryo Transfer In Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Frozen embryo transfer (FET) has been confirmed to be an alternative treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. In FET cycles the pregnancy outcomes and obstetric complications are also of great concern. This meta-analysis study was aimed to evaluate pregnancy outcomes and obstetric complications between FET and fresh embryo transfer in women with PCOS.STUDY DESIGN: A literature search in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library was performed. We included 6 studies evaluating pregnancy outcomes and obstetric complications between FET and fresh embryo transfer in women with PCOS who received in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in this meta-analysis. The main outcome measures were clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate, miscarriage rate, preterm birth rate, and macrosomia rate.RESULTS: We included 6 studies, accounting for 3,290 frozen embryo cycles and 3,042 fresh embryo cycles in women with PCOS. Data analysis showed that the rate of miscarriage in the FET group was significantly lower than that of the fresh embryo transfer group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the rates of clinical pregnancy, live birth, preterm birth, and macrosomia.CONCLUSION: Based on the above results, FET should ideally be performed as an appropriate treatment option for PCOS patients because of the lower rate of miscarriage in FET.