Comparing The Clinical Outcomes Of Natural Cycle And Hormone Replacement Cycles In Case Of Frozen Thawed Embryo Transfer

Objective:To determine whether there is any difference between the outcomes of two standard protocols for frozen embryo transfer(FET):Natural and Hormone Replacement Therapy.Design:Retrospective studySetting:First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Nanning, China.Patient(s):Two comparable groups of women with age≤35 years at the time of embryo were frozen, with patients having 6cells or 8 cells thawed embryo in storage and at most single FET cycle and with regular menstruation cycles: Group A(n=49) had FET in a natural cycle after spontaneous ovulation; Group B(n=55) had FET in hormonally controlled cycle.Intervention(s):Eligible participants were recruited and retrospective analysis between July 2014 to June 2015 were done into two standard FET groups; natural(n=49) or HRT(n=55).Main Outcome Measure(s):Implantation, pregnancy, biochemical rates per cycle and per embryo transfer(ET).Result(s):A total of 104 women, among them 49 underwent natural cycle and 55 underwent HRT cycle. Pregnancy outcomes were not significantly different between the two groups. The implantation rate was 31.57% in natural cycle where as 32.72% in HRT cycle. The clinical pregnancy rate was 48.97% in natural and 47.27% in HRT cycles. There were 4 ectopic pregnancies,7 normal deliveries and 12 caesarean sections due to some indication in natural cycle FET, whereas 2 missed abortions,2 ectopic pregnancies,6 normal deliveries and 6 caesarean sections were achieved in HRT cycles.Conclusion(s):The results of this retrospective study suggested that for women with ovulatory cycles undergoing FET, the outcomes were similar between the natural and HRT protocols.