Comparing highly purified human menopausal gonadotropin and recombinant follicle stimulating hormone in poor ovarian reserve patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Objective: We aimed to compare highly purified human menopausal gonadotropin (hp-hMG) and recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) in short antagonist in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles of patients with poor ovarian reserve (POR). Limited research exists on this comparison in short antagonist cycles for this patient group.

Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study involved 165 POR patients aged 18-45 years who underwent IVF between 2018 and 2022. Patients were divided into two groups based on their GnRH antagonist protocol: hp-hMG (group 1 = 72) and rFSH (group 2 = 93). We compared pregnancy outcomes, number of oocytes collected, mature oocytes retrieved, mean fertilized oocytes, top quality embryos transferred, and serum estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) levels on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration day.

Results: : No significant differences were found in E2 and P levels on hCG trigger day, endometrial thickness on transfer day, stimulation duration, total oocyte number, and mature oocyte number (P > 0.05). The total gonadotropin dose was significantly higher in the rFSH group (P < 0.001). The number of top-quality embryos transferred and clinical pregnancy and live birth rates did not diff er significantly between groups (P = 0.320; P = 0.310; P = 0.652; and P = 0.662, resp.).

Conclusion: Neither hp-hMG nor rFSH showed superiority in patients with POR, indicating similar effectiveness in this population.