Stepping Up to a Shorter Time to Ovulation in Women with PCOS

Retrospective cohort study suggests the advantages of a clomiphene “stair-step” approach.

Clomiphene citrate is commonly used to induce ovulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). If ovulation does not result at a 50-mg dose, withdrawal bleeding is induced with a progestin and the clomiphene dose is increased in the next cycle. In the newer “stair-step” protocol, the clomiphene dose is increased without inducing withdrawal bleeding. Does this approach shorten the time to ovulation? In a retrospective study, investigators at a single university infertility clinic compared outcomes in 109 women with PCOS undergoing ovulation induction with the traditional protocol (66 women) or the stair-step approach (43 women).

Time to ovulation was shorter with the stair-step protocol than with the traditional protocol (23 vs. 48 d…

Reviewing Author

Robert W. Rebar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMyovant Sciences, Inc.

Editorial BoardsEndoText; Clinical OB/GYN Alert

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society for Reproductive Medicine (Member, Ethics Committee)

Robert W. Rebar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMyovant Sciences, Inc.

Editorial BoardsEndoText; Clinical OB/GYN Alert

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society for Reproductive Medicine (Member, Ethics Committee)

Stepping Up to a Shorter Time to Ovulation in Women with PCOS

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Reviewing Author