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Common infertility treatments 'unsuccessful'

08/08/2008

Two types of infertility treatment do not significantly help couples with infertility problems to conceive, a new study claims.

The authors of the report - published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) - say their findings suggests national guidelines should be reviewed in the light of their evidence.

The team from the University of Aberdeen compared the effectiveness of two specific interventions with no treatment.

The interventions were oral clomifene citrate (CC), which is believed to correct subtle ovulatory dysfunction; and the other was unstimulated intra-uterine insemination (IUI) of sperm.

A total of 580 women who had experienced unexplained infertility for more than two years were assessed in the study.

They were divided into groups of three: one group was encouraged to try for a natural pregnancy; the second took CC; and the third group had IUI.

Overall, 101 women became pregnant and had a live birth during the course of the study.

The researchers found that women who had no interventions had a live birth rate of 17 per cent, the group taking oral CC had a birth rate of 14 per cent, and the group having unstimulated IUI had a birth rate of 23 per cent.

As such they argue that CC and IUI seem to be "no more effective than expectant management in couples with unexplained infertility".

They point out that to have a meaningful and significant improvement in the live birth rate, the difference in live births between unstimulated IUI and no intervention would have to be much higher than the six per cent reported in this trial.

"These interventions, which have been in use for many years, are unlikely to be more effective than no treatment," they conclude.

"These results challenge current practice, as endorsed by a national guideline in the UK."