Rs. Corfman et al., A NOVEL OVARIAN STIMULATION PROTOCOL FOR USE WITH THE ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, Fertility and sterility, 60(5), 1993, pp. 864-870
Objective: To determine whether a new ovarian stimulation protocol ter
med ''minimal stimulation'' provides pregnancy rates (PRs) comparable
with those in a conventional full stimulation protocol for patients un
dergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Design: Prospective
, nonrandomized study of patients in minimal stimulation or full stimu
lation, followed by standard IVF and zygote intrafallopian transfer or
uterine-ET. Setting: The ART program of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, M
innesota. Patients: Women (n = 120) 42 years of age or younger with se
rum day 3 FSH level less-than-or-equal-to 15.0 mIU/mL (conversion fact
or to SI unit, 1.0), normal thyroid-stimulating hormone and PRL levels
, normal endometrial cavity as observed on hysterosalpingogram, and pa
rtners with a normal semen analysis. Interventions: Oral clomiphene ci
trate, hMG, oocyte retrieval, IVF-ET. Main Outcome Measures: Cancellat
ions, implantation, pregnancy. Results: The cancellation rate was not
significantly higher in minimal stimulation (25.8%) than in full stimu
lation (14.1%). Minimal stimulation cycles yielded fewer oocytes per a
spiration (3.4 +/- 1.6) than full stimulation (10.1 +/- 5.4). There wa
s no difference in the implantation rates per ET (minimal stimulation,
16.4%; full stimulation, 13.3%) or overall clinical PRs per retrieval
(minimal stimulation, 31%; full stimulation, 42%). Conclusions: Minim
al stimulation for IVF is less expensive than full stimulation and min
imizes monitoring and patient discomfort. In addition, it produces acc
eptable PRs and represents an attractive alternative to select patient
s undergoing ART.