Evaluation of clomiphene citrate and human chorionic gonadotropin treatment: a prospective, randomized, crossover study during intrauterine insemination cycles.
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that in couples undergoing IUI, actively managed cycles using clomiphene citrate (CC) stimulation, ultrasound monitoring, and hCG timing will result in increased pregnancy rate (PR) per cycle compared with unstimulated urinary LH-timed cycles.


METHODS
Fifty-six couples with unexplained infertility (n = 26) or male factor infertility (n = 30) participated in the study.


METHODS
Tertiary academic medical center.


METHODS
Prospective, randomized, crossover. Couples were randomized initially to one of the two study groups (treatment A: LH-timed IUI; treatment B: CC-stimulated, hCG-timed IUI). If no pregnancy occurred, each couple alternated between the two regimens during subsequent cycles, up to a total of four cycles.


RESULTS
Twenty-nine couples completed the study and the analysis of 95 cycles revealed that among the male factor infertility group, one pregnancy occurred during the 26 cycles of each treatment group (PR per cycle of 3.9% for both treatment groups). In contrast, among the unexplained infertility group, there was a marked difference in the effect of treatments. During treatment A only one pregnancy occurred in 20 cycles (PR of 5% per cycle) whereas during treatment B, six pregnancies occurred in 23 cycles (PR of 26.1% per cycle).


CONCLUSIONS
If IUI is chosen as the treatment modality in unexplained infertility, the addition of active ovulation management that includes CC stimulation, ultrasound monitoring of folliculogenesis, and hCG timing of ovulation increases the PR per cycle. In couples with male infertility, PR per cycle is low and is apparently not affected by the addition of active ovulation management.
Arici
A
A
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Byrd
W
W
Bradshaw
K
K
Kutteh
W H
WH
Marshburn
P
P
Carr
B R
BR
D000328:Adult; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002996:Clomiphene / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000628:therapy*; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000628:therapy; D007315:Insemination, Artificial; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies
D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D002996:Clomiphene