Fallopian tube sperm perfusion versus intrauterine insemination in unexplained infertility: a randomized, prospective, cross-over trial

Chiara Perono Biacchiardi, Alberto Revelli, Gianluca Gennarelli, Sergio Rustichelli, Federica Moffa, M Massobrio
In: Fertility and Sterility · 2004 · vol. 81(2) , pp. 448–451 · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2003.06.015 · PMID:14967388 · W1976273185
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 1 in-corpus citation
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-07, 2026-07-28 ⓘ

This randomized cross-over trial found that fallopian tube sperm perfusion (FSP) resulted in a lower clinical pregnancy rate per cycle (8.6%) compared to intrauterine insemination (IUI) (21.7%) in couples with unexplained infertility undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation.

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

Abstract

ObjectiveTo compare the results of fallopian tube sperm perfusion (FSP) versus standard intrauterine insemination (IUI) in patients with unexplained infertility undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH).DesignRandomized, prospective, cross-over study.SettingReproductive medicine unit of a university hospital.Patient(s)Fifty-six couples with unexplained infertility.Intervention(s)COH was induced by recombinant FSH and monitored by serial transvaginal ultrasound. On the day of hCG administration during the first treatment cycle, patients were randomized to either IUI or FSP. Thereafter, in case no pregnancy was achieved, patients went on being treated with FSP and IUI in alternate cycles. A maximum of four treatment cycles per couple was performed. FSP was performed using a pediatric Foley's catheter inseminating 4 mL of sperm-enriched suspension; a Kremer-Delafontaine catheter delivering 0.5 mL of sperm suspension was used for IUI.Main outcome measure(s)Clinical pregnancy rate per cycle.Result(s)One hundred twenty-seven cycles (58 FSP, 69 IUI) were performed. The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was 21.7% for IUI and 8.6% for FSP, respectively. No major adverse effects were recorded for either technique.Conclusion(s)After COH, FSP is less effective than IUI in couples with unexplained infertility.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

infertility

Citation neighborhood (sparse)

Too few in-corpus citations on either side for a chart; here are the lists.

Cites (2)

Cited by (1)

References (36)

Cited by (1)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-05-11T06:01:13.017405+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK