Objective: To compare early vs. mid-follicular exposure to LH in patients with poor ovarian responsiveness undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled trial.
Setting: University Hospital, University-affiliated private Clinic.
Patients: Five hundred-thirty women with poor ovarian responsiveness during the first IVF cycle, undergoing their second IVF attempt.
Interventions: In a GnRH-analogue long protocol, ovarian stimulation with recombinant FSH (300 IU/day) plus randomly assigned addition of recombinant LH (150 IU/day) from day 1 (early LH exposure; n = 264) or from day 7 (late LH exposure; n = 266).
Main outcome measure(s): Primary outcome was the number of oocytes retrieved. Secondary outcomes were: cancellation rate, total gonadotropin dose, duration of ovarian stimulation, number of embryos available for transfer, pregnancy rate per started cycle, per OPU and per embryo transfer, implantation rate, delivered/ongoing pregnancy rate.
Results: Apart from the totally administered LH dose, that was significantly higher in the group receiving it from day 1, all parameters related to IVF outcome were non significantly different in the two groups.
Conclusions: Adding LH to FSH from day 1 or from day 7 of ovarian stimulation in a GnRH-agonist long protocol exerts comparable effects on IVF outcome in poor responders.