Ovulation and pregnancy after pulsatile administration of gonadotropin releasing hormone

Twenty-seven patients with primary or secondary amenorrhea were treated with gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). They were given 20 micrograms of GnRH in 50 microliter solution i.v. every 90 min by means of a peristaltic pump (Zyklomat, Ferring GmbH, Kiel). Two days after a rise in basal body temperature and when a ferning test on cervical mucus was negative the Zyklomat was removed and injections of hCG (2,500 IU) were given on alternate days until three injections had been administered. Ovulation occurred in 32 out of 40 treatment cycles and 11 patients conceived. Three of them miscarried at 6, 8, and 15 weeks of gestation. There were no severe complications of treatment and we did not encounter ovarian hyperstimulation and multiple pregnancy.