The Utrogestan and hMG protocol in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation during IVF/ICSI treatments

Poor oocyte quality is a main concern for decreased reproductive outcomes in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). A primary way to improve oocyte quality is to optimize the COH protocol. It was demonstrated that the viable embryo rate per oocyte retrieved in the Utrogestan and hMG protocol, a novel regimen based on frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET), is statistically higher than that in the short protocol. Thus, a retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the endocrine characteristics and clinical outcomes in PCOS patients subjected to the Utrogestan and hMG protocol compared with those subjected to the short protocol. One hundred twenty three PCOS patients enrolled in the study group and were simultaneously administered Utrogestan and human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) from cycle day 3 until the trigger day. When the dominant follicles matured, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) 0.1mg was used as the trigger. A short protocol was applied in the control group including 77 PCOS women. Viable embryos were cryopreserved for later transfer in both groups. The primary outcome was the viable embryo rate per oocyte retrieved. The secondary outcomes included the number of oocytes retrieved, fertilization rate, and clinical pregnancy outcomes from FET cycles. The pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) level was suppressed in most patients; however, the LH level in 13 women, whose basic LH level was more than 10IU/L, surpassed 10IU/L on menstruation cycle day (MC)(9-11) and decreased subsequently. No significant between-group differences were observed in the number of oocytes retrieved (13.27 +/- 7.46 vs 13.1 +/- 7.98), number of viable embryos (5.57 +/- 3.27 vs 5 +/- 2.79), mature oocyte rate (90.14 +/- 11.81% vs 93.02 +/- 8.95%), and cleavage rate (97.69 +/- 6.22% vs 95.89 +/- 9.57%). The fertilization rate (76.11 +/- 19.04% vs 69.34 +/- 21.81%; P < 0.05), viable embryo rate per oocyte retrieved (39.85% vs 34.68%; P <0.05), biochemical pregnancy rate (71.72% vs 56.67%; P < 0.05), clinical pregnancy rate (64.65% vs 51.65%; P< 0.05), and implantation rate (46.46% vs 31.35%; P < 0.05) in the study group were significant higher than those in the control group. This study shows that the Utrogestan and hMG protocol was feasible to improve the oocyte quality, possibly providing a new choice for PCOS patients undergoing IVF/ICSI treatments in combination with embryo cryopreservation.