Which luteal phase support is better for each IVF stimulation protocol to achieve the highest pregnancy rate? A superiority randomized clinical trial

Salvatore Gizzo, Alessandra Andrisani, Federica Esposito, Marco Noventa, Stefania Di Gangi, Stefano Angioni, Pietro Litta, Michele Gangemi, Giovanni Battista Nardelli
In: Gynecological Endocrinology · 2014 · vol. 30(12) , pp. 902–908 · doi:10.3109/09513590.2014.964638 · PMID:25268567 · W2166025345
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 2 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

High-dose progesterone with estradiol supplementation improves pregnancy rates in IVF, particularly with GnRH antagonist protocols or thin endometria, while its benefit is less clear for older patients or long GnRH agonist protocols.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

In vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles generate abnormalities in luteal-phase sex steroid concentrations and this represent an important limiting factor to achieve a good pregnancy rate. Although there are evidences about the usefulness of luteal phase support (LPS) after IVF cycles, no consensus exist about the best dose and way of progesterone (PG) administration, the advantages of estradiol (E2) supplementation and which IVF protocol could benefit from one more than other LPS scheme. Aim of the study was to assess the best LPS (low-dose PG, high-dose PG, high-dose PG and E2 supplementation) to achieve the highest clinical/ongoing pregnancy rate according to stimulation protocol, E2 at ovulation induction, endometrial thickness at pick-up and women's age. We conducted a randomized trial on 360 women undergoing IVF (180 treated by long-GnRH agonist, 90 by short-GnRH agonist and 90 by short-GnRH antagonist protocol) and stimulated by recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone alone. Our data demonstrated that high-dose PG is better than low-dose to increase both clinical and ongoing pregnancy rate. E2 supplementation are mandatory in case of short-GnRH antagonist protocol and strongly suggested in all protocols when E2max <5 nmol/l and endometrial thickness 35 years, the real advantages of E2 supplementation remain debatable and require further confirmation.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (34)

Cited by (2)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-06-02T02:00:03.124865+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK