Glucocorticoid administration during transfer of frozen-thawed embryos: A prospective, randomized study

Objective: To establish whether there is any improvement in pregnancy and implantation rates after administration of 'low-dose,' long-acting glucocorticoids during transfer of cryopreserved-thawed embryos. Setting: An IVF unit in a university hospital. Design: Prospective, randomized study. Ninety-nine consecutive transfer cycles of frozen-thawed embryos to the uterine cavity of randomly chosen women diagnosed as having tubal factor infertility only. Fifty-two patients underwent transfer of frozen-thawed embryos and received 0.5 mg of dexamethasone; 47 women (control group) did not receive the drug during transfer. Patients: Normal ovulatory patients with tubal factor infertility. Interventions: Oral dexamethasone administration before, during and after transfer of thawed embryos. Main Outcome Measures: Pregnancy and implantation rates. Results: The pregnancy rate was 13.5% (7/52) in patients treated with the 'low-dose' regimen of dexamethasone compared with 12.8% (6/47) in the control group. The implantation rate was similar. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the use of 0.5 mg dexamethasone for an immunosuppressive effect, administered for a short period to patients diagnosed as having 'pure' tubal factor infertility, did not improve the implantation or pregnancy rates.