Effectiveness of mild ovarian stimulation versus GnRH agonist protocol in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology: a meta-analysis

Objective: our meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the mild ovulation induction protocol using CC/gonadotropin/GnRH antagonist compared to the conventional GnRH agonist protocol in women undergoing ART. Method: Six electronic databases were searched from their date of establishment until August 2016. Outcomes in our analysis were calculated in terms of relative risk (RR) and weighted mean differences (WMD) and standard mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using random effect models or fixed effect models.Results: Six prospective controlled clinical trials with 1543 women comparing the clinical impacts of the two protocols were included. The synthesized results suggested a significant reduction in the quantity of gonadotropins (SMD: −1.96, 95% CI: −2.28 to 1.64, I2 = 78.5%), the incidence of OHSS (RR: 0.16, 95% CI 0.03–0.86, I2 = 0%) and an increase in the cycle cancelation rate (RR: 1.46, 95% CI 1.05–2.03, I2 = 89.4%). While no evidence of statistically significant differences between the groups existed in the other clinical outcomes.Conclusion: This study suggested that the probable benefits of the mild protocol, including its less costs and safer process without reducing the overall IVF treatment success rates, seemed to make it a better treatment option. Larger sample prospective trials evaluating live birth, clinical pregnancy, OHSS, multiple pregnancy incidence and so on were desired to establish.