The primary treatment of luteal phase inadequacy: progesterone versus clomiphene citrate.

This study was undertaken in order to evaluate the superiority, if any, of progesterone or clomiphene citrate in treatment of infertile women with luteal phase inadequacy. Eighty-two patients were randomly treated with progesterone or clomiphene citrate. Some patients with failure of progesterone were changed to clomiphene citrate treatment; some patients with failure of clomiphene citrate were changed to progesterone treatment. A life-table analysis was used for evaluation of the results. No statistical difference was noticed between the two treatments. Seventeen of 57 patients treated with progesterone and 13 of 62 patients treated with clomiphene citrate conceived. It is recommended that: patients with luteal phase inadequacy can be treated primarily with progesterone; an endometrial biopsy should be performed if the patients fail to conceive; if endometrial biopsy continues to be abnormal the patients can be treated again with clomiphene citrate. Some alternative treatments for luteal phase inadequacy are needed.