The effect of dydrogesterone supplementation in an IVF programme

Abstract

Various treatments are given during the luteal phase by most IVF programmes, without any proof of their efficacy. We have performed a double-blind, randomized study with dydrogesterone (125 transfers) against placebo (133 transfers). The pregnancy rate was 21.6 versus 15.0% per transfer cycle with dydrogesterone or placebo, respectively. There was no significant difference between these figures, but taking into account the usual success rate in IVF programmes (15-20%) a difference of 5% would be significant only with two groups of 1500 subjects. This paper discusses the question of how we can come to a definite conclusion on the efficacy of hormonal supplementation during the luteal phase.