AUTHOR=Xu Jian , Li Shu-Zhen , Yin Min-Na , Liang Pei-Ling , Li Ping , Sun Ling 

TITLE=Endometrial Preparation for Frozen–Thawed Embryo Transfer With or Without Pretreatment With GnRH Agonist: A Randomized Controlled Trial at Two Centers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.722253

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2021.722253

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>This prospective randomized controlled trial compared the reproductive outcomes of frozen embryo transfer (FET) with hormone replacement treatment (HRT) with or without gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) pretreatment.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 133 patients scheduled for HRT-FET mainly because of tubal and/or male factors who received two high-quality cleavage-stage embryos were enrolled at two participating centers. The GnRHa group (<italic>n</italic> = 65) received GnRHa pretreatment, while the control group (<italic>n</italic> = 68) did not. Analysis was based on the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Among the 133 participants, 130 (97.7%) underwent embryo transfer and 127 (95.5%) completed the protocol. The clinical pregnancy rate according to ITT did not differ between the GnRHa and control groups [39/65 (60.0%) <italic>vs</italic>. 41/68 (60.3%), <italic>p</italic> = 0.887]. The implantation rate (47.6% <italic>vs</italic>. 45.3%, <italic>p</italic> = 0.713), early pregnancy loss rate (5.1% <italic>vs</italic>. 19.5%, <italic>p</italic> = 0.09), and live birth rate (49.2% <italic>vs</italic>. 50.0%, <italic>p</italic> = 0.920) were also comparable between groups.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Pretreatment with GnRHa does not improve the reproductive outcomes for women receiving HRT-FET.</p></sec><sec><title>Clinical Trial Registration</title><p>The study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IOR-17014170; <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://www.chictr.org.cn" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">http://www.chictr.org.cn</ext-link>).</p></sec>