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Objective: The objective of this study was 2-fold. The first was to estimate side-to-side variation in antral follicle counts. The second was to determine whether basal follicle-stimulating hormone levels on days 2, 3, and 4 of the same menstrual cycle are significantly different. Methods: Forty-one patients between the ages of 20 and 42 years undergoing monitoring for in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer were evaluated ultrasonographically for antral follicle number. The antral follicle counts were determined for each ovary by experienced ultrasonographers at the time of suppression check ultrasonography. In a separate study, 62 normal subjects (ages 20-25 and 40-45 years) underwent serial sequential serum follicle-stimulating hormone determinations on days 2-4 of the menstrual cycle, and these levels were compared. Results: There was no significant difference between right and left antral follicle counts (P =.30). Serial follicle-stimulating hormone values were not significantly different on days 2, 3, or 4 of the menstrual cycle (P =.22). Conclusion: There is no significant difference between right-sided and left-sided antral follicle counts within the same individual. In turn, there is no significant difference in serial follicle-stimulating hormone levels on days 2, 3, or 4 of the menstrual cycle. Level Of Evidence: III [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether missing pills in an oral contraceptive (OC) cycle resulted in folliculogenesis and eventual ovulation., Methods: Fifteen women selected from a population requesting tubal reanastomosis were randomized into three groups and issued pill packs missing four consecutive pills in specific sequences, as follows: group I, days 1-4; group II, days 3-6; and group III, days 6-9. Serum was drawn for assay of LH, FSH, estradiol (E2), and progesterone, and serial ovarian ultrasound examinations were done to study follicular development throughout the cycle at 4-day intervals., Results: No subject ovulated, as suggested by serum progesterone concentrations (not exceeding 0.63 ng/mL for any woman) and ultrasound assessment of follicular development (no follicular diameter exceeding 13 mm). The highest (mean +/- standard deviation) serum concentrations of LH and FSH in any group (13.25 +/- 18.71 and 14.40 +/- 7.71 mIU/mL, respectively) and of E2 (44.35 +/- 26.79 pg/mL) were observed during or immediately after the pill-free interval. Ovarian ultrasound examinations suggested suppressed folliculogenesis in all groups. No functional ovarian cysts were detected., Conclusions: Oral contraceptives exerted a similar degree of pituitary and ovarian suppression even when the subjects missed four pills at varying times in a cycle. The anovulatory effect persisted when the OC pills were reinstituted and taken reliably after an interval of noncompliance.