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Updated: May 19, 2026

Fertility Preservation in Patients with Severe Ovarian Dysfunction
Published on: March 25, 2021
GnRH-agonist ovulation trigger in patients undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for IVF with ultrashort
Raoul Orvieto1, Ravit Nahum, Efraim Zohav
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Barzilai Medical Centre, Ashkelon, Israel. raoulo@barzi.health.gov.il
Objective:
To evaluate, whether Gonadotropin-releasing hormone-agonist (GnRH-agonist or GnRH-ag) trigger in patients undergoing the ultrashort GnRH-ag/GnRH-antagonist (GnRH-ant) protocol is as effective as in patients at high risk to develop severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), who undergo the multidose GnRH-ant protocol.
Design:
Cohort study.
Setting:
University hospital.
Patients:
All consecutive women aged ≤35 years admitted to our IVF unit from January 2011 to October 2011 who reached the ovum pick-up stage.
Interventions:
Triggering final oocytes maturation by GnRH-ag instead of hCG, in high-responder patients undergoing either the ultrashort GnRH-ag/GnRH-ant or the multidose GnRH-antagonist controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) protocols.
Main Outcome Measures:
Ovarian stimulation characteristics, percentage of mature oocytes, fertilization and pregnancy rates.
Results:
No inbetween groups differences were observed in ovarian-stimulation related variable, percentage of mature oocytes, fertilization or pregnancy rates. No case of moderate-severe OHSS was reported in the study, or the control groups.
Conclusions:
Three consecutive doses of daily GnRH-ag administration at the beginning of ultrashort flare GnRH-ag/GnRH-ant COH protocol, did not interfere with the ability of the GnRH-ag to trigger final oocytes maturation at the end of the COH cycle.
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