Pulsatile intravenous gonadotropin-releasing hormone for ovulation-induction in infertile women. I. Safety and effectiveness with outpatient therapy.

Pulsatile intravenous gonadotropin-releasing hormone (IV-GnRH) was used in 36 infertile patients with primary amenorrhea (n = 5), secondary amenorrhea due to hypothalamic chronic anovulation (HCA) (n = 22), hyperprolactinemia (n = 1) or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (n = 5), and oligomenorrhea (n = 3). Treatment was commonly initiated in the hospital but was then continued outside, with patients and local physicians accepting responsibility for maintaining IV-GnRH delivery systems. Twenty-eight of 113 treatment cycles (24.8%) resulted in pregnancy, with four spontaneous abortions (14.3%) and four twin pregnancies (16.7%) among 24 births. Probability of pregnancy per treatment cycle was significantly higher for primary amenorrhea (0.30) and for HCA (0.33) than for PCOS (0.07; P less than 0.05) and for oligomenorrhea (no conceptions; P = 0.01). Ovulatory cycles were not achieved in five patients (primary amenorrhea, n = 1; PCOS, n = 3; oligomenorrhea, n = 1). There were no serious complications; six patients recorded eight febrile episodes, which responded quickly to antibiotic therapy and cannula change. The authors conclude that outpatient IV-GnRH is safe, practical, and effective for follicular stimulation and ovulation induction in women presumed to have GnRH deficiency and in whom clomiphene therapy fails, and that less intensive monitoring is needed compared with gonadotropin ovulation induction therapy.