Comparison of different gonadotrophin preparations in intrauterine insemination cycles for the treatment of unexplained infertility: a prospective, randomized study

BACKGROUND: A comparison of the effectiveness of different gonadotrophin preparations in intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles for patients with unexplained infertility was performed. METHODS: Two hundred and forty-one patients were prospectively randomized using computer-generated random numbers into three groups: 81 in the Follitropin alpha (Group I), 80 in the urinary FSH (uFSH) (Group II) and 80 in the hMG (Group III). The primary outcome was clinical pregnancy rate with duration of stimulation, total gonadotrophin dose, number of dominant follicles, clinical pregnancy rate, multiple pregnancy, miscarriage rate and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rate being secondary outcomes. RESULTS: Clinical pregnancy rate was significantly higher in the rFSH group (25.9% in Follitropin alpha, 13.8% in uFSH and 12.5% in HMG groups; P = 0.04). There was no significant difference in terms of duration of stimulation, but mean FSH dose consumed per cycle was significantly lower in the recombinant FSH (rFSH) group compared with others (825 IU in Follitropin alpha, 1107 IU in uFSH and 1197 IU in HMG groups; P = 0.001). The number of follicles >= 16 mm diameter was significantly higher in the rFSH group compared with the uFSH and HMG groups (2.6 in Follitropin alpha, 1.3 in uFSH and 1.4 in HMG groups; P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: rFSH may result in a better outcome in IUI cycles for unexplained infertility.