Efficacy of progestin-primed ovarian stimulation (PPOS) versus minimal stimulation in women of advanced maternal age with poor ovarian response under the Patient-Oriented Strategies Encompassing Individualized Oocyte Number (POSEIDON) criteria.

BACKGROUND

We investigated the efficacy of progestin-primed ovarian stimulation (PPOS) and minimal stimulation using clomiphene citrate (CC) + gonadotropin (Gn) for in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in advanced maternal age (AMA) women with poor ovarian response (POR) according to the Patient-Oriented Strategies Encompassing Individualized Oocyte Number (POSEIDON) criteria.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed using the data of AMA patients who had received IVF-ET due to a low ovarian reserve. The enrolled patients were screened according to the POSEIDON group 4 criteria. 102 patients were included in the study, including 52 in the PPOS group and 50 in the minimal stimulation group (who received CC + Gn). The duration of Gn administration, Gn dose, estradiol (E2), and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels on the day of trigger, the cancellation rate of the oocyte retrieval cycle, the number of oocytes retrieved, the number of metaphase II (MII) oocytes, and IVF laboratory outcomes during ovarian stimulation were compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

No significant differences were found in terms of age, infertility, body mass index (BMI), and basal follicle-stimulating hormone, LH, E2, AFC, and AMH between the 2 groups (all P>0.05). The duration of ovarian stimulation [(9.43±2.44) vs. (7.48±3.09) days, P<0.05] was significantly longer and the total Gn dose [(2,423.22±738.66) vs. (1,579.68±728.86) IU, P<0.05] were significantly higher in the PPOS group than the minimal stimulation group. The LH value on the day of trigger in the PPOS group (3.28 mIU/mL) was significantly lower than that in the minimal stimulation group (5.57 mIU/mL) (P<0.05). The number of oocytes retrieved, normal fertilization rate, number of good-quality embryos on day 3, number of transferable embryos, and number of frozen blastocysts did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (all P>0.05). The proportion of MII oocytes was significantly higher in the PPOS group than the minimal stimulation group (94.05% vs. 81.40%, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

For patients in the POSEIDON group 4, PPOS effectively blocked the premature LH surge and increased the proportion of mature oocytes. Thus, it is a feasible ovulation stimulation protocol for AMA women with POR.