Keywords
pregnancy
oocyte donation
How to Cite
Abstract
Study question: Do serum progesterone levels on the day of the embryo transfer have an impact on pregnancy rates among oocyte recipients?
Summary answer: Serum progesterone levels equal to or greater than 9 ng/ml were significantly associated with higher clinical pregnancy and implantation rates.
What is known already: Due to the immunomodulatory properties of progesterone, it is postulated that decreased endometrial receptivity could be due to insufficient exposure time to that hormone, a decreased serum level, or both. In this regard, numerous publications have shown that values below a threshold are associated with poorer reproductive outcomes.
Study design: Prospective cohort study that included 36 oocyte recipient patients who performed embryo transfer from June 2018 to December 2019.
Materials and methods: Nineteen patients with serum progesterone levels < 9 ng/ml (group I) and seventeen patients with levels ≥ 9 ng/ml (group II) were analyzed. All the endometrial cycles were artificially prepared. Progesterone was indicated vaginally at a dose of 600 mg/day; and serum determination was performed one hour prior to embryo transfer.
Main results: The clinical pregnancy rate was 21% (4/19) for group I and 53% (9/17) for group II, p=0.03; while the implantation rate was 20% (4/20) and 48% (12/25) respectively, p=0.03.
Limitations: This study was conducted with a small sample size. The measurement of serum progesterone levels on the embryo transfer day is not a common practice, given the large inter-individual variability, as well as the lack of correlation with blood concentrations.
Wider implications of the findings: These findings could be useful for the optimization and individualization of the luteal phase in patients undergoing embryo transfer.
References
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