Estradiol Valerate Pretreatment in Short Protocol GnRH-Agonist Cycles versus Combined Pretreatment with Oral Contraceptive Pills in Long Protocol GnRH-Agonist Cycles: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Table 1
Characteristics of the treatment groups.
Variable
Long agonist protocol with OC pretreatment
Short agonist protocol with vaginal estradiol pretreatment
value
Number of subjects
154
144
—
Number of cycles
157
158
—
Mean (SD) age
32.5 (3.97)
32.5 (2.96)
0.68
95% CI
(31.9–33.1)
(32.1–33.1)
BMI (kg/m2) (SD)
22.2 (1.3)
22.4 (1.1)
0.16
Tubal factor (%)
44 (27.5)
47 (29.9)
—
Male factor (%)
58 (36.2)
55 (35.0)
—
Anovulation (%)
28 (17.5)
23 (14.6)
—
Unexplained (%)
30 (18.8)
32 (20.4)
—
Mean (SD) duration of infertility (years)
4.2 (2.8)
4.3 (2.9)
0.82
AMH (SD) (ng/mL)
3.2 (2.5)
3.3 (2.9)
0.97
95% CI
(2.8–3.5)
(2.9–3.8)
Inhibin B (SD)
60.9 (42.3)
67.2 (37.4)
0.14
95% CI
(52.3–69.5)
(60.8–73.4)
Basal FSH (SD)
7.4 (2.3)
8.1 (2.1)
0.32
Basal LH (SD)
7.2 (1.8)
7.1 (1.6)
0.23
Basal E2 (SD)
47.1 (13.2)
47.5 (11.1)
0.71
DHEA-S (SD)
204.6 (20.3)
207.5 (17.8)
0.57
Testosterone (SD)
1.3 (0.6)
1.6 (0.4)
0.07
SHBG (SD)
81.3 (18.4)
67.9 (21.3)
0.11
AFC (SD)
17.4 (10.1)
18.8 (12.5)
0.58
95% CI
(15.9–19.1)
(16.7–20.8)
Values are (%) or means ± SDs. AMH: anti-Müllerian hormone; BMI: body mass index; AFC: antral follicle count; DHEA-S: dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate; SHBG: steroid hormone-binding globulin.
