Timing of Estrogen Support During the Luteal Phase of in Vitro Fertilization (IVF)/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Cycle

Timing of Estrogen Support During the Luteal Phase of IVF / Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Cycle: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01367912

Enrollment

301

Registered

2011-06-07

Start date

2008-02-29

Completion date

2008-11-30

Last updated

2011-06-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Infertility

Keywords

Luteal phase support, estradiol supplementation, IVF/ICSI, clinical pregnancy rate

Brief summary

To test the hypothesis that adding estradiol (E2) to progesterone supplementation later in the luteal phase of in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles, rather than earlier in the luteal phase, improves clinical pregnancy rates (PRs).

Detailed description

Several studies reported that elevated E2 may have a detrimental effect on endometrial receptivity and embryo. This conflict was the starting point of our study. The investigators thought that this luteal decrease in E2 level could be prevented by adding estradiol just before the receptivity window is open, instead of adding earlier in the luteal phase which could result in defective embryo implantation.

Interventions

DRUGestradiol tablet

received 2 mg estradiol tablets orally two times daily beginning from the first day after hCG injection, in addition to vaginal progesterone gel

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

No minimum to 40 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* All patients on long GnRH agonist protocol with controlled ovarian hyperstimulation who were seen in our IVF clinic between February and November 2008, and who have E2 levels on the day of hCG administration \>2500 pg/dl

Exclusion criteria

* Presence of azoospermia requiring testicular sperm extraction procedure * endometriosis greater than stage II * unilateral oophorectomy, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) * secondary infertility * age greater than 40 yrs and a basal follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level higher than 12 mIU/ml were

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Clinical pregnancy rate	sixth gestational week.	Clinical pregnancies were detected with the confirmation of positive fetal cardiac activities by transvaginal sonography in the sixth gestational week.

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026