Low-dose dexamethasone augments the ovarian response to exogenous gonadotrophins leading to a reduction in cycle cancellation rate in a standard IVF programme

S.D. Keay, E. A. Lenton, I.D. Cooke, M.G.R. Hull, J.M. Jenkins
In: Human Reproduction · 2001 · vol. 16(9) , pp. 1861–1865 · doi:10.1093/humrep/16.9.1861 · PMID:11527889 · W2036956854
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 3 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Low-dose dexamethasone given with gonadotropins reduced the cancellation rate due to poor ovarian response in an IVF program compared to placebo.

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

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cancellation of assisted conception cycles because of poor ovarian response to gonadotrophins is a significant problem in assisted reproduction. Various adjuvant treatments have been suggested to improve responsiveness. This study reports on the potential benefits of low dose dexamethasone. METHODS: Patients <40 years of age were invited to participate in a twin centre prospective double blind randomized placebo controlled study. A total of 290 patients were recruited and computer randomized using sealed envelopes to receive either 1 mg dexamethasone (n = 145) or placebo tablets (n = 145) in addition to a standard long protocol gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue with gonadotrophin stimulation regime. RESULTS: A significantly lower cancellation rate for poor ovarian response was observed in the dexamethasone group compared with controls (2.8 versus 12.4% respectively, P < 0.002). Further comparisons between the dexamethasone group and controls were made of median fertilization rates (60 versus 61% respectively, NS), implantation rates (16.3 versus 11.6% respectively, NS) and pregnancy rate per cycle started (26.9 versus 17.2%, NS). The benefit was apparent in patients both with polycystic and normal ovaries. CONCLUSION: Low dose dexamethasone co-treatment reduces the incidence of poor ovarian response. It may increase clinical pregnancy rates and should be considered for inclusion in stimulation regimes to optimize ovarian response.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood (sparse)

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

Cited by (3)

References (31)

Cited by (3)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-05-11T06:17:40.080092+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK