The development of a successful non-university-based ambulatory in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer program: phase I.

Most of the current in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) programs are university-based. The establishment of a successful ambulatory IVF program in association with a busy, two-man general obstetrics-gynecologic practice is described. Seventy-one infertile couples were screened between February 1 and October 15, 1983. Forty-three couples were judged eligible for IVF-ET. Forty-three women underwent a single attempt at ET. The first 13 of these women underwent controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) with 150 mg clomiphene citrate and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and the remaining 30 underwent COH with human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) and hCG. One of the 13 patients who underwent COH with clomiphene citrate conceived but subsequently miscarried early in the first trimester, for an 8% pregnancy rate. There were 12 pregnancies among the 30 patients who received hMG and hCG, for a 40% pregnancy rate. Only three of these pregnancies miscarried in the early first trimester, and three of the nine viable pregnancies are twin gestations. The possible factors responsible for the high pregnancy rate with IVF-ET, using COH with hMG and hCG, are discussed, and the feasibility of its performance in a well-controlled, non-university program is demonstrated.

In vitro sperm capacitation and transcervical intrauterine insemination for the treatment of refractory infertility: phase I.

Fourteen couples with long-standing infertility, associated with cervical mucus insufficiency, male subfertility, or unexplained infertility, participated in a therapeutic trial. The female partners, who were all ovulatory, were given human menopausal gonadotropin from day 2 of the menstrual cycle (controlled ovarian hyperstimulation). When plasma estradiol concentrations reached 1000 to 2000 pg/ml, human chorionic gonadotropin was given. Approximately 32 hours and again 70 hours thereafter, a masturbation specimen of the husband's sperm was capacitated in vitro and inseminated transcervically into the uterine cavity. Five women (35%) conceived following a single cycle of treatment. Four of the pregnancies are currently progressing normally; one ended in a spontaneous miscarriage in the early first trimester. The potential role of in vitro sperm capacitation and transcervical intrauterine insemination in the treatment of refractory infertility unrelated to female organic pelvic disease is discussed.