Parameters Declaring PCO Infertile Patients Either Sensitive or Resistant to Different Doses of Clomiphene Citrate.

Summary

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinological disorder seen in 6%-10% of women (Human Reproduction, 2004). It is characterized by polycystic ovaries, anovulatory cycles, and hyperandrogenism.

In nearly 20% of infertile women, PCOS is said to be the key reason behind infertility (Norman et al., 2007).

PCOS is a syndrome that manifests variably from adolescence as oligomenorrhea or hirsutism or obesity and goes on to affect the reproductive performance of the female by causing anovulation. Some may even be severely affected by metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, or endometrial carcinoma. It also increases the risk of ovarian and breast carcinoma (Atiomo et al., 2003).

PCOS falls in WHO type II anovulation (norm-gonadotropic norm-estrogenic anovulation) and is seen in 85% of anovulatory females. Although lifestyle modification is known to improve reproductive outcomes in females with PCOS, the gold standard treatment for norm-gonadotropic oligo/amenorrheic infertility (WHO Group II) was clomiphene citrate (CC) (Radosh L., 2009) until 2018, when ESHRE and ASRM have declared letrozole as the first-line treatment for ovulation induction (OI)( ESHRE 2018 guidelines).

To conclude, available data shows that letrozole is at least as effective as CC for ovulation and has comparable live birth rates. Importantly, it has definite advantages over CC. Many studies have shown letrozole to be as effective as gonadotropins, with added advantage of low cost and lower multiple pregnancy rates. However, the quality of medical evidence supporting aromatase inhibitors for OI, are inadequate, small in sample size, and inappropriate design. Moreover, there is very limited data on potential teratogenic effects, oocyte, embryo quality, and any effect on implantation. ( Misso et al., 2012) Those who fail to respond to CC are labeled as clomiphene resistant. It is common in approximately 15%-40% of women with PCOS (NICE, 2014). Major factors postulated for CC resistance include obesity, insulin resistance, (seen in nearly 50%-70% of females with PCOS) and hyperandrogenemia (Parsanezhad et al., 2001).Moreover, genetic predisposition is suggested to play a role in CC resistance (Overbeek et al., 2009).However, still, the current data available on the causes of CC resistance are not sufficient enough to direct our treatment.

It is seen in various studies (Sohrevardi et al.,2016) that the females who initially failed to respond to CC develop better ovulation and pregnancy outcomes on treatment with insulin-sensitizing agents. This indicates that insulin resistance may be a cause of CC resistance in females with PCOS. In fact, insulin-sensitizing agents (Azziz et al., 2009) decrease the dose of ovulation-inducing agent and time for follicular maturation in females with PCOS.

As of now, there have been no concrete studies to compare the metabolic profile of females who respond to CC and those who do not. It is still an enigma as to why some women respond to clomiphene, while others do not. By identifying the various factors which affect the response of CC in patients with infertility, a lot of time can be saved by giving alternate options of treatment to these patients. This study was done with the aim to analyze various clinical, metabolic, hormonal, and ultrasound parameters that might affect the response to clomiphene.

Conditions

• PCO
• Induction of Ovulation
• Clomiphene Citrate

Interventions

DRUG

Clomiphene Citrate

All patients will be treated with CC starting with 50 mg/day on the day 2 of their cycle for 5 days, a transvaginal ultrasound will be done 1 week after the last pill, if all follicles are below 10 mm the dose will subsequently be increased to 100mg/day for 5 days then 150mg/day for 5 days if a transvaginal is done a week from the last pill and showed no response (all follicles being below 10 mm ).Maximum cc dose will be 150 mg (ASRM, 2013). Medroxyprogesterone (10 mg/d Provera for 10 days)will be given to induce withdrawal bleeding to start these steps again in a new cycle. These steps will be repeated for 3cycles before declaring the patient CC resistant. o Response: Response to CC will be assessed by ovulation. TVS will be done by the same observer using a Samsung ultrasound machine, HS40. A scan will be done 1 week after the last pill of each dose. No response: if all follicles are below 10 mm (ASRM, 2013), follicles \>10mm, follow up till ovulation

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ain Shams Maternity Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ahmed Rateb, professor · Ain Shams Maternity Hospital

Eligibility

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-01-01

Primary Completion

2022-03-01

Completion

2022-03-31

Countries

• Egypt

Study Locations