DEXAMETHASONE AS AN ADJUVANT THERAPY FOR ANOVULATORY, NORMOANDROGENICPATIENTS DURING OVULATION INDUCTION WITH EXOGENOUS GONADOTROPINS

Objective: The objective of our study was to explore the effect of dex amethasone (DEX), a highly potent, long-acting glucocorticoid, on the treatment outcome of 74 anovulatory women aged 21 to 29 years, with no rmal gonadotropins, androgen, and prolactin (PRL) serum levels who fai led to conceive on antiestrogen therapy. Methods: The patients receive d human menopausal gonadotropin/human chorionic gonadotropin (hMG/hCG) for ovulation induction. Starting on day 4 of the induced menstruatio n, hMG was administered in combination with DEX, 0.5 mg at night, or w ithout DEX as an adjuvant treatment. The total amount of gonadotropins used, time required for stimulation, percentage of fertilization, ser um estradiol levels, pregnancy rate, cumulative pregnancy rate, and ab ortions were recorded. Results: There were no differences in either th e cumulative pregnancy rate (54.1% in the DEX group and 52.7% in the u ntreated group) or the abortion rates (21.7% in the DEX group compared to 20.8% in the untreated group). The other parameters investigated a lso did not differ significantly between the groups. Conclusions: The overall results did not support DEX as a clinically useful adjuvant th erapy for anovulatory, normoandrogenic patients.