Comparison of intravaginal progesterone gel and intramuscular 17‑α‑hydroxyprogesterone caproate in luteal phase support

Satir,Funda; Toptas,Tayfun; Inel,Murat; Erman-Akar,Munire; Taskin,Omur

doi:10.3892/etm.2013.1049

Comparison of intravaginal progesterone gel and intramuscular 17‑α‑hydroxyprogesterone caproate in luteal phase support

Authors:
- Funda Satir
- Tayfun Toptas
- Murat Inel
- Munire Erman-Akar
- Omur Taskin
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Affiliations: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Akdeniz University Hospital, Antalya 07070, Turkey
Published online on: April 4, 2013 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2013.1049
Pages: 1740-1744

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Abstract

The main objective of this study was to compare the pregnancy rates of intramuscular (IM) 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-HPC) and intravaginal (IV) progesterone gel administration in in vitro fertilization‑embryo transfer (IVF‑ET) cycles. The IM 17-HPC and IV progesterone groups included 632 (66.4%) and 320 (33.6%) women undergoing the first cycles of IVF-ET treatment, respectively. Multivariate analyses annotated for all potential confounders showed that the use of IV progesterone retained a predictive value for the total β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) positivity and clinical pregnancy rates [adjusted odds ratio (OR), 1.97; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.28-3.03; P=0.002; and OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.07‑2.60; P=0.03, respectively]. However, biochemical and on-going pregnancy rates did not differ significantly between the groups (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.00‑3.41; P=0.05; and OR, 1.43, 95% CI, 0.89‑2.30; P=0.14, respectively). Luteal phase support (LPS) with IV progesterone gel in comparison with IM 17-HPC appears to be associated with higher clinical pregnancy rates in IVF-ET cycles. However, this benefit is clinically irrelevant in terms of on-going pregnancy outcomes.

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