TY - JOUR
T1 - Improving the patient's experience of IVF/ICSI: A proposal for an ovarian stimulation protocol with GnRH antagonist co-treatment
AU - Devroey, Paul
AU - Aboulghar, Mohamed
AU - Garcia-Velasco, Juan
AU - Griesinger, Georg
AU - Humaidan, Peter
AU - Kolibianakis, Efstratios
AU - Ledger, William
AU - Tomás, Candido
AU - Fauser, Bart C.J.M.
PY - 2009/4
Y1 - 2009/4
N2 - Patients undergoing IVF/ICSI frequently experience substantial treatment burden, risk and psychological distress. These three related elements contribute to a negative patient experience that can lead to treatment discontinuation if pregnancy is not achieved. One approach to minimize these factors is the use of protocols designed to achieve high term, singleton birth rates per IVF treatment started, while improving the patient's welfare. Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists may be suitable for inclusion in such a protocol. In clinical trial data and meta-analyses, treatment with these agents is associated with similar live birth rates but reduced treatment burden (duration and side effects) and less risk of ovarian stimulation syndrome, compared with GnRH agonist long protocols. GnRH antagonists may also be associated with reduced psychological distress compared with agonists, but so far, the evidence for this is inconclusive. To facilitate the implementation of treatments that optimize the patient's experience, a simple GnRH antagonist protocol for use in predicted normal responders is proposed.
AB - Patients undergoing IVF/ICSI frequently experience substantial treatment burden, risk and psychological distress. These three related elements contribute to a negative patient experience that can lead to treatment discontinuation if pregnancy is not achieved. One approach to minimize these factors is the use of protocols designed to achieve high term, singleton birth rates per IVF treatment started, while improving the patient's welfare. Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists may be suitable for inclusion in such a protocol. In clinical trial data and meta-analyses, treatment with these agents is associated with similar live birth rates but reduced treatment burden (duration and side effects) and less risk of ovarian stimulation syndrome, compared with GnRH agonist long protocols. GnRH antagonists may also be associated with reduced psychological distress compared with agonists, but so far, the evidence for this is inconclusive. To facilitate the implementation of treatments that optimize the patient's experience, a simple GnRH antagonist protocol for use in predicted normal responders is proposed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=64949106539&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/humrep/den468
DO - 10.1093/humrep/den468
M3 - Comments/Debates
C2 - 19153090
AN - SCOPUS:64949106539
SN - 0268-1161
VL - 24
SP - 764
EP - 774
JO - Human Reproduction
JF - Human Reproduction
IS - 4
ER -
