Objective: To determine the link between oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use and IVF/ICSI treatment outcomes under a short GnRH agonist protocol.
Methods: A total of 186 patients (one cycle each patient) received a short GnRH agonist protocol at Day 2 of menstrual cycle for IVF/ICSI. Among them, 83 patients took OCP pre-treatment prior to the stimulation protocol (OCP group) and 103 patients received no OCP (non-OCP group). The triggering of final oocyte maturation was performed with 10 000 IU of hCG.
Results: The ongoing pregnancy rates per started cycle in the non-OCP group and OCP group were 27.8% and 12.7% (P < 0.05) respectively. The clinical pregnancy rate and embryo implantation rate were significantly reduced in OCP group (clinical pregnancy rate 16.5%, implantation rate 11.2%) as compared with non-OCP group (32.2% and 19.9%, P < 0.05). The endometrium on hCG day was thicker in non-OCP group than OCP group (9.5 mm vs 8.7 mm, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Pretreatment with OCP, as compared with initiation of stimulation at Day 2 of cycle in patients treated with GnRH-a short protocol antagonist appears to be associated with a significant difference in ongoing pregnancy rates per started cycle.