The effects of adding Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone antagonist on cycle characteristics and pregnancy rate in stimulated Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) cycle

Abstract

<jats:p>A prospective randomised (comparative) study was conducted in the High Institute for Infertility Diagnosis and Assisted Reproductive Technologies in AL-Nahrain University, Baghdad – Iraq, from the 1st of October 2018 till 1st of September 2019 involving seventy women of infertile couples with the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were randomly allocated into two groupsreceiving minimal ovarian stimulation protocol (Clomiphene Citrate and Human Menopausal Gonadotropin) with IUI adding flexible GnRH antagonist protocol (Cetrorelix) to the study group. IUI was done 40-44 hours after ovulation trigger. There were no significant statistical variances among control and study groups in demographic characteristics concerning: age, BMI, type, duration and cause of infertility. There was no important variance in a mean day of trigger among control and study groups, 12.43 ±1.56 versus 13.11 ±1.49, at the same order (p = 0.064). The Mean number of dominant follicles was considerably greater in study groups than that of the group control, 2.40±1.03 versus 1.89±0.83, respectively (p = 0.025).Mean serum Estradiol of the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group, 478.68 ±423.61 versus 273.12 ±254.57, respectively (p = 0.016). The proportion of women with LH&gt; 10 were significantly less frequent in the study group in comparison with the control group, 22.9 % versus 68.6 %, at the same order (p &lt; 0.001). There was no important variance in mean serum Progesterone among control and study groups. There was no significant difference in the characteristic of the dominant follicle, ruptured versus not ruptured, (p = 0.124) on the day of IUI. The pregnancy rate was higher in the study group when compared with the control group; however, the difference in pregnancy rate doesn’t reach statistical import (p = 0.145)</jats:p>