Pulsatility and Resistance Indices of Uterine and Ovarian Arteries in Anovulatory Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

We aimed to compare the ovarian and uterine artery blood flow of anovulatory patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) with those of ovulatory women throughout the menstrual cycle using color Doppler ultrasound. Seventy-one women with PCOS, who were admitted to the infertility outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital, were included in the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups as anovulatory (group 1, n = 23) and ovulatory (group 2, n = 37). Each patient was followed up throughout her menstrual cycle and included in either group 1 or group 2. Anovulatory cycles were determined by consecutive ultrasound examinations, and the progesterone value was measured in the luteal period. Eleven patients were excluded from the study because they did not continue their follow-up. The uterine and ovarian artery pulsatility and resistance indices of all patients in both groups were evaluated 3 times throughout a menstrual cycle: 7th to 10th day, 13th to 17th day, and 21st to 25th day. It was observed that the uterine artery resistances of the patients with anovulatory cycles remained relatively high throughout the menstrual cycle compared with ovulatory cycles. Both pulsatility and resistance indices of uterine and ovarian arteries were significantly higher in anovulatory cycles compared with ovulatory cycles at all evaluation times throughout the menstrual cycle (P < 0.05). Ovarian artery resistance in anovulatory patients did not significantly change during the menstrual cycle. Anovulatory patients with PCOS have higher uterine and ovarian artery resistance than ovulatory artery resistance, and the former shows a significant decrease throughout the cycle.