Lower live birth rate with minimal stimulation IVF

(HealthDay)—Minimal stimulation in vitro fertilization (mini-IVF) is associated with reduced live birth rates compared with conventional IVF, according to a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

John J. Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., from the New Hope Fertility Center in New York City, and colleagues performed a randomized noninferiority controlled trial, with a prespecified 10 percent border, comparing one cycle of mini-IVF with single embryo transfer with one cycle of conventional IVF with double embryo transfer. A total of 564 couples (women aged <39 years) who were undergoing their first IVF cycle were randomized to mini-IVF (285 couples) or conventional IVF (279 couples).

The researchers found that the cumulative live birth rates were 49 and 63 percent for mini-IVF and conventional IVF, respectively (relative risk, 0.76). Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome did not occur after mini-IVF, compared with 5.7 percent of cases after conventional IVF. The multiple pregnancy rates were 6.4 and 32 percent, respectively, in mini-IVF and conventional IVF (relative risk, 0.25). Compared with conventional IVF, gonadotropin use was significantly lower with mini-IVF (P < 0.0001).

"How these different dimensions are weighed by couples who are deciding between mini-IVF or conventional IVF and whether the lower live birth rate could be offset by a series of 'lower cost' mini-IVF cycles should be the subject of future studies," the authors write.

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