Luteal phase clomiphene citrate for ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To assess the efficacy of late luteal phase clomiphene citrate (CC) administration relative to early follicular phase CC for ovulation induction for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Study design: Review.

Materials and methods: A complete electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and CBM were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The search was not restricted by language and publication time. Two reviewers selected trials and assessed trial quality by the Cochrane Handbook 5.1.0 independently.

Results: Four eligible RCT studies involving 708 women (934 cycles) were included. The results of the Meta-analysis: Late luteal phase group was associated with a number of higher total follicles (MD 1.82; 95% CI 0.86–2.78, p?p?p?=?0.26), ovulation rate (RR 0.99; 95% CI 0.86–1.14, p?=?0.87), and abortion rate (RR 1.12; 95% CI 0.38 to 3.29, p?=?0.84) between the two groups.

Conclusion: It appeared that late luteal phase CC for ovulation induction might be an effective method for ovulation induction in women with PCOS compared to conventional CC administration. Further intensive randomized-controlled studies should be warranted to define the efficacy of CC used in late luteal phase.