Live births after vaginal progesterone Cyclogest suppository versus Crinone gel for luteal phase support following cleavage and blastocyst cryopreserved embryo transfer (CET); a retrospective comparative study

Objective: To compare the clinical outcomes, including pregnancy rate, live birth rate, and miscarriage rate between vaginal progesterone Cyclogest suppository and Crinone vaginal progesterone gel as LPS in frozen-thawed embryo transfer in Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) cycles. Methods: In this comparative retrospective chart review, 283 women who had frozen-thawed embryo transfer were assessed. The patients were divided into two groups based on the route of progesterone administration used as LPS. When the endometrial thickness reached >= 8mm, vaginal progesterone Cyclogest 400 mg/twice daily suppository was administered in one group; in another group, vaginal progesterone Crinone 8% 90 mg daily was administrated until a positive pregnancy test was confirmed. This was continued for 10-12 weeks after embryo transfer when fetal heart activity was detected by ultrasonography. Results: The patients' characteristics in the two groups were matched and there was no significant difference. The biochemical and clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth rates were similar-4.7% vs. 2.7%, p=0.464; 26.1% vs. 23.3%, p=0.638; 13.3% vs. 9.6%, p=0.410; 15.6% vs. 16.4%, p=0.872, respectively; there was no statistically significant difference between the vaginal progesterone Cyclogest group and the Crinone progesterone group. Conclusions: Clinical pregnancy, biochemical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth rates were similar between both groups. Moreover, vaginal progesterone Cyclogest and Crinone 8% gel are equally effective in providing support during the luteal phase for both blastocysts and cleavage-stage embryos in CET.