The misdiagnosis of PCO

We see lots of patients who are misdiagnosed as having PCO (polycystic ovarian disease) , and this is partly because lots of sonographers aren't good at making the diagnosis properly.

When they see a few ovarian follicles on an ultrasound scan, they interpret these as being small cysts, and any time they see a few cysts in the ovaries, they say that the patient has PCO.

This is completely incorrect, because there are very strict criteria laid down for how to make a diagnosis of PCO on an ultrasound scan. The antral follicle count needs to be high; the ovaries need to be large; and the ovarian stroma needs to be increased. Unfortunately , while many gynecologists are aware of these criteria, many sonographers haven't learned these.

This is why lots of patients who just have a few isolated ovarian cysts are being misdiagnosed as PCO, when in fact what they actually have is poor ovarian reserve !

The incorrect diagnosis results in incorrect treatment , and results in their losing precious time. This actually ends up reducing their fertility even further, which is such a tragedy !

Make sure your doctor understands the importance of checking ovarian volume, ovarian stroma and antral follicle counts when doing an ultrasound scan.

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