Does basal luteinizing hormone help predict the fate of in vitro fertilization?

Abstract

Evaluate the role of baseline serum luteinizing hormone (LH) in predicting the success of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in terms of clinical pregnancy and live birth rate. Women who underwent IVF and/or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), following either the agonist or the antagonist protocol, were retrospectively evaluated over a period of two years at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. We investigated the correlation of serum LH levels in the follicular phase with pregnancy outcomes. A P-value lower than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The individuals (351) were divided into four groups based on LH and FSH baseline values, and the levels were correlated with clinical pregnancy and live births. The highest clinical pregnancy rate (25%) was achieved in women with low LH (< 2IU/l); whereas the miscarriage rate was almost similar in all the groups. The pregnancy rate was the lowest (16%) in women with high LH levels (> 8IU/L). Pregnancy rates were intermediate (20%) if LH was intermediate (2-8IU/L). However, none of the results had statistical significance. Early follicular serum LH levels before an IVF/ICSI treatment cycle did not have any clear relationship with clinical pregnancy or live birth rates.