Erwin Loh: Most IVF Add-On Treatments Are Not Backed by Reliable Evidence
Erwin Loh, President of Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Most IVF ‘add-on’ treatments sold to people hoping to boost their chances of having children are not backed by reliable evidence, fail to boost fertility and may be a complete waste of money, the largest study of its kind has concluded.
There has been a surge in extra procedures, medicines or techniques offered to patients in addition to standard IVF with bold claims they will increase the probability of success. Take-up is widespread, with more than 70% of IVF patients in the UK, Australia and New Zealand paying for one or more add-on during IVF treatment.
But the world’s most comprehensive review into their effectiveness – and the evidence behind them – found the majority show no effect on fertility or remain inconclusive due to limited or low-quality data.
Unproven add-ons also lead to false hope, greater financial strain and needless medical procedures at what is already a difficult time for patients, experts behind the research said.
The findings were published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women’s Health journal.
Source.”
Title: Safety and effectiveness of ten common in-vitro fertilisation add-ons: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Sarah Lensen, Jack Wilkinson, Michelle Steeper, Pedro Melo, Mohan S Kamath, Laurentiu Craciunas, Rui Wang, Vanessa Jordan, Marian Showell, Sara Attinger, Afsana Afroz, Madelon van Wely, Cynthia Farquhar
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