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Prolonged gonadotropin stimulation for assisted reproductive technology cycles is associated with decreased pregnancy rates for all women except for women with polycystic ovary syndrome

  • Assisted Reproduction Technologies
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

To determine if etiology of infertility modifies the relationship between the duration of ovarian stimulation and success during assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles.

Methods

A prospectively collected database was analyzed in an academic infertility practice. Eight hundred and twelve infertile women undergoing their initial fresh embryo, non-donor in vitro fertilization (IVF) or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection ICSI) cycle between January 1999 and December 2010 were evaluated. Clinical pregnancy was the main outcome measured.

Results

Out of 663 cycles resulting in oocyte retrieval, 299 produced a clinical pregnancy (45.1%). Women who achieved a clinical pregnancy had a significantly shorter stimulation length (11.9 vs. 12.1 days, p=0.047). Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was the only etiology of infertility that was significantly associated with a higher chance for clinical pregnancy and was a significant confounder for the association of duration and success of treatment. Women with 13 days or longer of stimulation had a 34 % lower chance of clinical pregnancy as compared to those who had a shorter cycle (OR 0.66, 95% CI:0.46-0.95) after adjustment for age, ovarian reserve, number of oocytes retrieved, embryos transferred and PCOS diagnosis.

Conclusion

Prolonged duration of stimulation is associated with decreased ART success for all couples, except for women with PCOS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO 12631 East 17th Avenue, Mail Stop B198-3, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Amanda Ryan, Shunping Wang, Ruben Alvero & Alex J Polotsky

Authors
  1. Amanda Ryan
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  2. Shunping Wang
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  3. Ruben Alvero
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  4. Alex J Polotsky
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alex J Polotsky.

Additional information

Capsule In this study, prolonged duration of stimulation was a poor predictor of ART success for all couples, except for women with PCOS.

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Ryan, A., Wang, S., Alvero, R. et al. Prolonged gonadotropin stimulation for assisted reproductive technology cycles is associated with decreased pregnancy rates for all women except for women with polycystic ovary syndrome. J Assist Reprod Genet 31, 837–842 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-014-0253-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-014-0253-9

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