An online survey of specialists' opinion on first line management options for unexplained subfertility.

Abstract

The recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on Fertility (2012) suggests that IVF should be offered to couples with unexplained subfertility after 2 years of expectant management. The evidence on which these recommendations are based is not robust and there is a lack of agreement among specialists regarding the management of unexplained subfertility. We conducted an online survey among fertility specialists to find out the general consensus regarding the management of these couples. An e-mail questionnaire was sent to 420 reproductive medicine clinicians and 136 (32.38%) replied. Only 16% said they would always recommend IVF as the first line management for these couples, irrespective of age and duration of infertility. Of those surveyed, 39% agreed to the new NICE proposal, 33% agreed partly and 25% did not agree at all. A total of 27% of the respondents said they would definitely change their practice according to the NICE proposal but 30% said they would not; 29% said they might change their policy while the rest were unsure. This survey confirms the ongoing clinical uncertainty among fertility specialists in managing couples with unexplained subfertility.