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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Oct 18:12:722253.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.722253. eCollection 2021.

Endometrial Preparation for Frozen-Thawed Embryo Transfer With or Without Pretreatment With GnRH Agonist: A Randomized Controlled Trial at Two Centers

Jian Xu  1 , Shu-Zhen Li  2 , Min-Na Yin  1 , Pei-Ling Liang  1 , Ping Li  2 , Ling Sun  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Endometrial Preparation for Frozen-Thawed Embryo Transfer With or Without Pretreatment With GnRH Agonist: A Randomized Controlled Trial at Two Centers

Jian Xu et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Objective: This prospective randomized controlled trial compared the reproductive outcomes of frozen embryo transfer (FET) with hormone replacement treatment (HRT) with or without gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) pretreatment.

Methods: A total of 133 patients scheduled for HRT-FET mainly because of tubal and/or male factors who received two high-quality cleavage-stage embryos were enrolled at two participating centers. The GnRHa group (n = 65) received GnRHa pretreatment, while the control group (n = 68) did not. Analysis was based on the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle.

Results: Among the 133 participants, 130 (97.7%) underwent embryo transfer and 127 (95.5%) completed the protocol. The clinical pregnancy rate according to ITT did not differ between the GnRHa and control groups [39/65 (60.0%) vs. 41/68 (60.3%), p = 0.887]. The implantation rate (47.6% vs. 45.3%, p = 0.713), early pregnancy loss rate (5.1% vs. 19.5%, p = 0.09), and live birth rate (49.2% vs. 50.0%, p = 0.920) were also comparable between groups.

Conclusion: Pretreatment with GnRHa does not improve the reproductive outcomes for women receiving HRT-FET.

Clinical trial registration: The study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IOR-17014170; http://www.chictr.org.cn).

Keywords: GnRH agonist; endometrial preparation; frozen embryo transfer; hormone replacement treatment; reproductive outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT diagram of participant screening, randomization, and follow-up.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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