Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age, with an estimated prevalence of 6-13% depending on diagnostic criteria applied. 1,2 The Rotterdam diagnostic criteria were introduced in 2003 and largely replaced the 1990 National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria. As per Rotterdam, PCOS can be diagnosed on identification of two of the following three criteria: (i) oligo- or amenorrhoea, (ii) clinical and/or biochemical evidence of androgen excess or (iii) sonographic evidence of polycystic ovaries.
This was an expansion on the previous NIH criteria, which did not include ultrasound as a diagnostic factor for PCOS.
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