title: Improving the patient's experience of IVF/ICSI: a proposal for an ovarian stimulation protocol with GnRH antagonist co-treatment.
abstract: Patients undergoing IVF/ICSI frequently experience substantial treatment burden, risk and psychological distress. These three related elements contribute to a negative patient experience that can lead to treatment discontinuation if pregnancy is not achieved. One approach to minimize these factors is the use of protocols designed to achieve high term, singleton birth rates per IVF treatment started, while improving the patient's welfare. Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists may be suitable for inclusion in such a protocol. In clinical trial data and meta-analyses, treatment with these agents is associated with similar live birth rates but reduced treatment burden (duration and side effects) and less risk of ovarian stimulation syndrome, compared with GnRH agonist long protocols. GnRH antagonists may also be associated with reduced psychological distress compared with agonists, but so far, the evidence for this is inconclusive. To facilitate the implementation of treatments that optimize the patient's experience, a simple GnRH antagonist protocol for use in predicted normal responders is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive Medicine, Dutch-Speaking Brussels Free University, Laarbeeklaan 101, Brussels 1090, Belgium. paul.devroey@uzbrussel.be
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Devroey
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aboulghar
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia-Velasco
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Griesinger
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Humaidan
authors.forename: Efstratios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kolibianakis
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ledger
authors.forename: Candido
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tomás
authors.forename: Bart C J M
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Fauser
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods*; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016471:Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010062:Ovulation Induction / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone