Decreased incidence of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in high risk in-vitro fertilization patients receiving intravenous albumin: A prospective study

The administration of human serum albumin has been reported to prevent severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in patients considered at risk of developing OHSS while undergoing ovarian stimulation protocols for in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This prospective, randomized study investigated the effectiveness of a single dose of human serum albumin (20 g) administered i.v. immediately after oocyte retrieval. Women enrolled in the IVF programme were treated with the long gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist, triptorelin, and an individually-adjusted human menopausal gonadotrophin protocol. The criteria for inclusion in the study were young age, nonobesity, oestradiol concentration >9200 pmol/l on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration and >20 follicles >14 mm diameter as observed by transvaginal sonography. The treatment group (n = 22) received albumin while the control group (n = 18) did not. Patients were followed-up using ultrasound every 3 days. There was a significantly higher number of severe OHSS cases in the control group (n = 4) than in the treatment group (n = 0) (P = 0.035). Where the data base was restricted to patients with an oestradiol concentration >15 000 pmol/l, the difference between control and treatment groups was highly significant (P = 0.008). These findings support the use of i.v. albumin in preventing severe OHSS during IVF treatment.