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Pabuccu E, Deniz DH, Valadova A, Pabuccu R. Low Dose hCG Support in Modified Natural Frozen Embryo Transfer Cycles. Reprod Sci 2024:10.1007/s43032-024-01639-z. [PMID: 38977642 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-024-01639-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
What is the effect of a single low-dose recombinant hCG injection after embryo transfer (ET) in letrozole-induced modified natural frozen embryo transfer cycles (mNC-FET)?. An observational study was conducted in the university-affiliated referral clinic between 2022 and 2024. Women aged 18-42 with at least one vitrified blastocyst obtained from the previous cycle(s) were included. Ovulation induction for endometrial preparation was initiated with oral letrozol (5 mg/day) for five days. Ovulation was triggered using 6500 IU rec hCG sc when the leading follicle > 17 mm, endometrial thickness > 7.5 mm, and serum progesterone (P) < 1.5 ng/ml. All women received 30 mg dydrogesterone/day po for additional five-day luteal support. On the 6th day, ET was performed. Based on a quasi-randomized design, a group of women additionally received a half single bolus of (3250 IU) rec hCG (sc) on the morning of 3rd day of ET (hCG group). Women who did not receive additional hCG were assigned as controls. One hundred fifty-four women were detected to be eligible for the study among 2150 initiated FET cycles during the period. Demographic data of the groups, including mean women's age, BMI, serum AMH, and infertility etiologies, were comparable in terms of variables. Mean serum progesterone values and the number of transferred embryos were also similar. A significantly higher ongoing pregnancy/started cycle was documented in the hCG group than in controls (46.7% vs 33.6% respectively, p = 0.03*). A single low-dose hCG injection after ET may improve the OPRs of women in letrozole mNC-FET cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emre Pabuccu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centrum Clinic ART Center, Ufuk University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
| | | | - Aytekin Valadova
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mamak State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Recai Pabuccu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centrum Clinic ART Center, Ufuk University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
- Centrum Clinic ART Center, Gaziosmanpasa, Ankara, Turkey
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LA Marca A, Anserini P, Borini A, D'Amato G, Greco E, Livi C, Papaleo E, Rago R. Luteal phase support in assisted reproductive technology centers: Italian survey. Minerva Obstet Gynecol 2024; 76:109-117. [PMID: 37058319 DOI: 10.23736/s2724-606x.22.05219-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In assisted reproductive cycles (ART), the fine balance of controlling corpus luteum function is severely disrupted. To challenge this iatrogenic deficiency, clinicians aim to provide exogenous support. Several reviews have investigated progesterone route of administration, dosage and timing. METHODS A survey about luteal phase support (LPS) after ovarian stimulation was conducted among doctors in charge in Italian II-III level ART centers. RESULTS With regards to the general approach to LPS, 87.9% doctors declare to diversify the approach; the reasons for diversifying (69.7%) were based on the type of cycle. For all the most important administration routes (vaginal, intramuscular, subcutaneous) it appears that in frozen cycles there is a shift towards higher dosages. The 90.9% of the centers use vaginal progesterone, and when a combined approach is required, in 72.7% of cases vaginal administration is combined with injective route of administration. When Italian doctors were asked about the beginning and duration of LPS, 96% of the centers start the day of the pickup or the day after, while 80% of the centers continue LPS until week 8-12. The rate of participation of the centers confirms the low perceived importance of LPS among Italian ART centers, while may be considered quite surprising the relatively higher percentage of centers that measures P level. Tailorization to women's needs is the new objective of LPS: self-administration, good tolerability are the main aspects for Italian centers. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, results of Italian survey are consistent to results of main international surveys about LPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio LA Marca
- Department of Maternal-Child and Adult Medical and Surgical Sciences, Eugin Clinic of Modena, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy -
| | - Paola Anserini
- Unit of Physiopathology of Human Reproduction, IRCCS San Martino University Hospital, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | | | | | - Ermanno Greco
- Reproductive Medicine Center, Villa Mafalda Private Clinic, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Enrico Papaleo
- Unit of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Birth Science Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Rocco Rago
- Unit of Physiology of Reproduction, Sandro Pertini Hospital, Rome, Italy
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Patki A. Role of Dydrogesterone for Luteal Phase Support in Assisted Reproduction. Reprod Sci 2024; 31:17-29. [PMID: 37488405 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-023-01302-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) have significantly improved over the years with the advent of the frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) technique. Ovarian hyperstimulation during IVF cycles causes luteal phase deficiency, a condition of insufficient progesterone. Intramuscular or vaginal progesterone and dydrogesterone are commonly used for luteal phase support in FET. Oral dydrogesterone has a higher bioavailability than progesterone and has high specificity for progesterone receptors. Though micronized vaginal progesterone has been the preferred option, recent data suggest that oral dydrogesterone might be an alternative therapeutic option for luteal phase support to improve clinical outcomes of IVF cycles. Dydrogesterone has a good safety profile and is well tolerated. Its efficacy has been evaluated in several clinical studies and demonstrated to be non-inferior to micronized vaginal progesterone in large-scale clinical trials. Oral dydrogesterone may potentially become a preferred drug for luteal phase support in millions of women undergoing IVF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ameet Patki
- Fertility Associates Khar, 4Th Floor, Gupte House, 81 SV Road, Khar West, Mumbai, 400052, Maharashtra, India.
- Hinduja Group of Hospitals, Khar West, Mumbai, India.
- Surya Hospital Mumbai, Mumbai, India.
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Almohammadi A, Raveendran A, Black M, Maheshwari A. The optimal route of progesterone administration for luteal phase support in a frozen embryo transfer: a systematic review. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2023; 308:341-350. [PMID: 35943567 PMCID: PMC10293378 DOI: 10.1007/s00404-022-06674-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the optimal route of progesterone administration for luteal phase support in a frozen embryo transfer. DESIGN Systematic review. PATIENTS Women undergoing frozen embryo transfer (FET). INTERVENTIONS We conducted an extensive database search of Medline (PubMed), Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Trials Register using relevant keywords and their combinations to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the routes (i.e., oral, vaginal, intramuscular) of progesterone administration for luteal phase support (LPS) in artificial FET. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Clinical pregnancy, live birth, miscarriage. RESULTS Four RCTs with 3245 participants undergoing artificial endometrial preparation (EP) cycles during FET were found to be eligible. Four trials compared vaginal progesterone with intramuscular progesterone and two trials compared vaginal progesterone with oral progesterone. One study favored of vaginal versus oral progesterone for clinical pregnancy rates (RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.22-0.92) and other study favored intramuscular versus vaginal progesterone for clinical pregnancy rates (RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.21-1.76) and live birth rates (RR 1.62, 95% CI 1.28-2.05). Tabulation of overall evidence strength assessment showed low-quality evidence on the basis that for each outcome-comparison pair, there were deficiencies in either directness of outcome measurement or study quality. CONCLUSION There was little consensus and evidence was heterogeneous on the optimal route of administration of progesterone for LPS during FET in artificial EP cycles. This warrants more trials, indirect comparisons, and network meta-analyses. PROPERO NO CRD42021251017.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ainharan Raveendran
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Mairead Black
- University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Aberdeen Centre for Women's Health Research, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Abha Maheshwari
- Aberdeen Fertility Centre, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Reproductive Medicine, Aberdeen, UK
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Zhang Y, Xia M, Song Y, Wang J, Mao Y, Liu J, Ma X. Long-term pituitary downregulation before frozen embryo transfer improves clinical outcomes in women positive for serum autoantibodies. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2021; 265:102-106. [PMID: 34482233 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2021.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Autoantibodies are associated with worse outcomes in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), including increasing miscarriage rate, lowering pregnancy rate, and lowering delivery rate. However, little is known about improving IVF/ICSI outcomes for autoantibody-positive women, especially in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles. This study aimed to investigate whether pituitary suppression before FET improves the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and live birth rate (LBR) for IVF/ICSI women positive for serum autoantibodies. STUDY DESIGN A total of 181 infertile women positive for serum autoantibodies were recruited, including 65 women receiving GnRHa and hormone replacement therapy protocols (G-HRT group) and 116 women using modified natural cycles (MNC)/mild stimulated cycles (MSC) as FET protocols (MNC/MSC group). The outcomes were compared between two groups, including CPR, implantation rate (IR), miscarriage rate (MR), ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR), LBR, and gestational age (GA). The primary outcome of the study was CPR. RESULTS CPR, OPR, and LBR per embryo transferred in the G-HRT groups were significantly higher than those in the MNC/MSC group. No statistically significant differences were observed in the IR and MR. The CPR, IR, MR, OPR, and LBR was 72.23%, 64.00%, 12.77%, 63.07%, and 63.07% in the G-HRT group, respectively, while that was 56.90%, 53.07%, 10.60%, 50.00%, and 50.00% in the MNC/MSC group, respectively. After adjusting for partial potential confounding factors using multiple logistic regression, the type of endometrial preparation is the factor independently associated with enhanced CPR (OR = 0.48, 95%CI: 0.24-0.96, P = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS The current study showed that prior long-term GnRHa suppression could benefit patients with high serum autoantibody levels during IVF/ICSI FET cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, the Center for Clinical Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Meng Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, the Center for Clinical Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Yunjie Song
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, the Center for Clinical Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Yundong Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, the Center for Clinical Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Jiayin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, the Center for Clinical Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Xiang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, the Center for Clinical Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
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Serum luteal phase progesterone in women undergoing frozen embryo transfer in assisted conception: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Fertil Steril 2021; 116:1534-1556. [PMID: 34384594 DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2021.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between luteal serum progesterone levels and frozen embryo transfer (FET) outcomes. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. SETTING Not applicable. PATIENT(S) Women undergoing FET. INTERVENTION(S) We conducted electronic searches of MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, and grey literature (not widely available) from inception to March 2021 to identify cohort studies in which the serum luteal progesterone level was measured around the time of FET. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Ongoing pregnancy or live birth rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and miscarriage rate. RESULT(S) Among the studies analyzing serum progesterone level thresholds <10 ng/mL, a higher serum progesterone level was associated with increased rates of ongoing pregnancy or live birth (relative risk [RR] 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28 to 1.70), higher chance of clinical pregnancy (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.49), and lower risk of miscarriage (RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.77) in cycles using exclusively vaginal progesterone and blastocyst embryos. There was uncertainty about whether progesterone thresholds ≥10 ng/mL were associated with FET outcomes in sensitivity analyses including all studies, owing to high interstudy heterogeneity and wide CIs. CONCLUSION(S) Our findings indicate that there may be a minimum clinically important luteal serum concentration of progesterone required to ensure an optimal endocrine milieu during embryo implantation and early pregnancy after FET treatment. Future clinical trials are required to assess whether administering higher-dose luteal phase support improves outcomes in women with a low serum progesterone level at the time of FET. PROSPERO NUMBER CRD42019157071.
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Xu H, Zhang XQ, Zhu XL, Weng HN, Xu LQ, Huang L, Liu FH. Comparison of vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone versus intramuscular progesterone for luteal support in hormone replacement therapy-frozen embryo transfer cycle. J Gynecol Obstet Hum Reprod 2021; 50:102110. [PMID: 33727207 DOI: 10.1016/j.jogoh.2021.102110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It remains under subject of debate regarding the optimal route of luteal support for hormone replacement therapy- frozen embryo transfer (HRT-FET) cycles. We compared efficacy of vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone and intramuscular progesterone for HRT-FET lutein support. METHODS This is a retrospective observational study. After matching for propensity score of getting vaginal + oral treatment, a total of 208 FET cycles in the vaginal progesterone combined with oral dydrogesterone and 624 cycles in the intramuscular progesterone group were enrolled. Pregnancy outcomes and neonatal outcomes including chemical pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate, spontaneous abortion rate, live birth rate, gestational weeks, pre-term delivery, birth weight, and congenital anomalies rate were compared. RESULTS No significant differences were observed in patient characteristics such as age, duration of infertility, type of infertility, or hormone level after matching. Chemical pregnancy rate (68.3 % versus 70.5 %), clinical pregnancy rate (64.9 % versus 64.4 %), implantation rate (52.3 % versus 50.2 %), spontaneous abortion rate (21.5 % versus 18.4 %), and live birth rate (49.0 % versus 51.3 %) were similar in both group without statistically significant difference. No significant differences in neonatal outcomes were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSION We observed similar pregnancy outcomes in both vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone and intramuscular progesterone protocol. Vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone can be substituted for intramuscular progesterone given that vaginal plus oral use has good safety and is more convenient and may be associated with less side effect caused by intramuscular injection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Xu
- Reproductive Health and Infertility Department, Guangdong Woman and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou 511442, China
| | - Xi-Qian Zhang
- Reproductive Health and Infertility Department, Guangdong Woman and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou 511442, China
| | - Xiu-Lan Zhu
- Reproductive Health and Infertility Department, Guangdong Woman and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou 511442, China
| | - Hui-Nan Weng
- Reproductive Health and Infertility Department, Guangdong Woman and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou 511442, China
| | - Li-Qing Xu
- Reproductive Health and Infertility Department, Guangdong Woman and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou 511442, China
| | - Li Huang
- Reproductive Health and Infertility Department, Guangdong Woman and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou 511442, China
| | - Feng-Hua Liu
- Reproductive Health and Infertility Department, Guangdong Woman and Children's Hospital, Guangzhou 511442, China.
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