Clinical outcome following stimulation with highly purified hMG or recombinant FSH in patients undergoing their first treatment cycle of IVF or ICSI.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether the clinical efficiency of recombinant FSH (rFSH) and highly purified human menotrophin (hMG) differs in terms of pregnancy and live birth rates during the first treatment cycle of IVF or ICSI.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Rikshospitalet, Oslo University Hospital.

STUDY POPULATION: Records of 1,136 infertile couples undergoing their first IVF (n = 682) or ICSI (n = 454) treatments were reviewed. The effect of hMG and rFSH was analyzed for the IVF and ICSI groups separately.

METHODS: Patients received long term down-regulation with GnRH agonist and controlled ovarian hyperstimulation with hMG or rFSH. Oocytes were fertilized by IVF or ICSI. Embryos were transferred on Day 2.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome measures were pregnancy and live birth rates, secondary outcome measures were duration of treatment, doses of hMG or rFSH applied, number of oocytes retrieved and the number and quality of embryos obtained.

RESULTS: Similar pregnancy and live birth rates were observed with hMG and rFSH. Compared to hMG, treatment cycles with rFSH were characterized by significantly shorter stimulation, lower gonadotrophin consumption, and increased number of oocytes and embryos.

CONCLUSION: We conclude that rFSH and hMG are equivalent in terms of clinical efficacy.