A prospective randomized study to assess the clinical efficacy of gonadotrophins administered subcutaneously and...

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of gonadotrophins administered s.c. or i.m., in a prospective randomized study of women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment at a tertiary referral centre. In all, 71 patients undergoing a total of 162 IVF treatment cycles were randomized to receive either s.c. (n = 41) or i.m. (n = 30) administration of gonadotrophins. Up to three cycles of IVF were assessed for each patient. The main outcome measures were the number of oocytes retrieved, the total amount of gonadotrophins used, the number of follicles recruited and the cumulative pregnancy and live birth rates. The mean number of oocytes retrieved was 10.5 for each group. The number of days of stimulation was significantly shorter for the s.c. group (11.7 +/- 1.9 days, mean +/- SD) than the i.m. group (12.6 +/- 2.3 days). The cumulative conception and live birth rates after three cycles of treatment were similar between the two groups. Our results suggest that the clinical efficacy of s.c. and i.m. administration of gonadotrophins is comparable. Both routes are well tolerated by patients.