Luteal phase support using either Crinone® 8% or Utrogest®: Results of a prospective, randomized study

The Crinone® 8% preparation makes it possible to administer natural progesterone (90mg) vaginally once daily for luteal phase support (LPS). Until now, no prospective, randomized studies have directly compared this new preparation with widely used Utrogest® capsules, which were originally designed for oral administration but are used routinely as a vaginal preparation. A prospective, randomized study investigated 126 patients undergoing cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Patients received either Crinone® 8% (n=73) vaginally once daily or two Utrogest® capsules (n=53) vaginally three times daily (600mg). Clinical pregnancy rates were comparable (28.8 versus 18.9%), as were clinical abortion rates until 12 weeks of gestation (14.3 versus 10.0%) and clinical ongoing pregnancy rates (24.7 versus 17.0%) in the Crinone® 8% and Utrogest® groups, respectively. Forty-seven non-pregnant patients were randomly selected to answer questions regarding comfort during LPS. Crinone® 8% had a clear advantage over Utrogest® as it resulted in less vaginal discharge (P<0.01) and fewer application difficulties (P<0.05). Twenty patients familiar with the alternative preparation from a previous cycle also noted that Crinone® 8% was easier to apply (P<0.01) and less time consuming (P<0.05) to use than Utrogest®.