Objective: To compare the use and clinical efficacy of three different follicle-stimulating hormones (FSHs) for follicle growth and development in long-protocol controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH).
Methods: A total of 540 gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists’ long protocol treatment cycles at our hospital between January 2015 and May 2020 and met the inclusion criteria were retrospectively analyzed. The cycles were divided into three groups based on their indexes (groups A, B, and C). Each of the groups received a different type of FSH during treatment. A cross-group comparison was then undertaken to evaluate the growth and development of the three largest follicles and the patients’ pregnancy-related indexes between the normal-response and high-response populations.
Results: In the normal-response populations, the number of high-quality embryos obtained in groups A and B was significantly higher than in group C, and the FSH dosage was significantly lower than in group C (P < 0.05). There were more follicles with a diameter of 16– 18 mm found in group A than in group C on the day of hCG injection (hCG day) (P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in the groups in other indicators. In the high-response populations, the number of oocytes retrieved and high-quality embryos obtained in group A were significantly higher than in group C (P < 0.05), and the total dosage and duration of FSH stimulation in group C were significantly higher than groups A and B (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Three different types of FSH led to comparable growth rates of the three largest follicles and clinical pregnancy rates per fresh cycle in long-protocol COH treatment.
Keywords: follicle-stimulating hormone, follicle growth rate, high-quality embryos, Gn stimulation duration, follicle distribution on hCG day