Comparison of human menopausal gonadotrophin and recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone in in-vitro fertilisation and pregnancy outcome.

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to compare the effectiveness of human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) and recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (recombinant FSH) in term of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and pregnancy outcome. A total of 238 patients who underwent IVF for infertility treatment were included in the study. The first attempt of controlled ovarian stimulation was recorded and evaluated. A long protocol of ovarian stimulation was performed with gonadotrophin releasing hormone analogue (GnRH-a) administration. Gonadotrophin, which was either HMG (group A) or recombinant FSH (group B), was administrated to each patient for ovarian stimulation. The results of this study showed no difference in the number of stimulation days, fertilised oocytes, transferred embryos and cycles with embryos available for freezing between the two groups. Although the starting doses of both gonadotrophins were similar, the total dosage of HMG was higher than that of recombinant FSH (48.8ฑ20.8 versus 42.9ฑ20.0, p = 0.03). The number of retrieved oocytes in group A was higher than that in group B (9.5ฑ4.4 versus 8.3ฑ4.3, p = 0.04). The differences in cancellation rate, fertilisation rate, pregnancy rate per cycle and per transfer, as well as implantation rate between the two groups was not statistically significant. In conclusion, patients who underwent ovarian stimulation with GnRH-a long down-regulation still benefit for HMG for their treatment. We did not find any difference in fertilisation rate or pregnancy rate as well as implantation rate between HMG and recombinant FSH. A greater number of oocytes were retrieved in patients treated with HMG. However, more ampoules of HMG were administrated to achieve ovarian stimulation, compared with recombinant FSH.