diagnosing pcos (1)

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By Sasha Ottey
There is so much confusion surrounding PCOS, and there is quite a bit of debate going on in the medical community as well. In the US, there is an National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria for diagnosing PCOS; however, more recently, there is another proposed diagnostic criteria by the Rotterdam European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)/American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).Here is a breakdown of the NIH and Rotterdam diagnostic criteria for diagnosing PCOS:NIH Diagnostic Criteria:
  • hyperandrogenism ( including hirsutism, acne, and/or other classic symptoms caused by excessive male hormones) or hyperandrogenemia (excess male hormones being made but not necessarily presenting with the symptoms (for example hirsutism)
  • oligo ovulation (irregular ovulation - the frequency of or the decreased amount of normal egg maturation)
  • exclusion (ruling out) of other possible or like disorders or diseases
Rotterdam Diagnostic Criteria (after excluding other possible or similar disorders or diseases, two of three of the following:
  • oligo- or anovulation (irregular or no ovulation)
  • hyperandrogenism ( including hirsutism, acne, and/or other classic symptoms caused by excessive male hormones) or hyperandrogenemia (excess male hormones being made but not necessarily presenting with the symptoms (for example hirsutism)
  • polycystic ovaries
So, the major distinction between the NIH and Rotterdam diagnostic criteria is the emphasis on polycystic ovaries. The NIH diagnostic criteria did not require the presence of polycystic ovaries in order to diagnose PCOS, while the Rotterdam criteria strongly suggests polycystic ovaries as a diagnostic criteria.Who would not have been diagnosed with PCOS with the NIH criteria, but would be with the Rotterdam criteria?The NIH criteria is generally used in the US, and extensive research is being done on the Rotterdam criteria at this time.1 Azziz, Ricardo: The Rotterdam 2003 Criteria For Defining Pcos: Con (Or How To Define A Syndrome). http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jc.2005-2153v1.
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