Reference values for the midluteal plasma progesterone concentration: evidence from human menopausal gonadotropin-stimulated pregnancy cycles

Objective: To determine reference values for the midluteal plasma progester one concentration. Design: Retrospective analysis. Setting: Infertility clinic at an academic medical center. Patient(s): One hundred ninety-two infertile women who became pregnant afte r induction of ovulation with hMG. Intervention(s): The plasma progesterone level was measured during the midi uteal phase of the hMG treatment cycle. Main Outcome Measure(s): The midluteal plasma progesterone concentration wa s correlated with the outcome of the pregnancy. Result(s): In this cohort of 192 women in whom ovulation was induced with h MG and 5,000 IU of hCG, the mean midluteal plasma progesterone concentratio ns were 29.07 ng/mL, 25.85 ng/mL, 31.49 ng/mL, 41.39 ng/mL, and 28.63 ng/mL in all cycles that resulted in pregnancy: cycles that resulted in full-ter m singleton pregnancy, cycles that resulted in full-term multiple pregnancy , cycles that resulted in preterm pregnancy, and cycles that ended in misca rriage, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the progesterone concentration between the cycles that resulted in full-ter m pregnancy and those that ended in miscarriage, but there was a statistica lly significant difference between the cycles that resulted in singleton pr egnancy and those that resulted in multiple pregnancy. The minimum value th at was compatible with a full-term pregnancy in this cohort of women was 10 .83 ng/mL. Conclusion(s): In a cohort of 192 women, the minimum plasma progesterone co ncentration on day 7 in women who attained a full-term pregnancy after indu ction of ovulation with 5,000 IU of hCG was 10.83 ng/mL. (C) 1999 by Americ an Society for Reproductive Medicine.