Objective: To evaluate of the effect of adding prednisolone to improve
the outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in women with
previous unexplained implantation failure.
Materials & Methods: This is a randomized controlled study performed
in Fertility Care Unit in Mansoura University Hospital and private fertility
care centers, Mansoura, Egypt. The study comprised of women undergoing
ICSI and has history of one or more implantation failure. All women were
randomly divided into two groups; the study group received prednisolone
in a dose of 20 mg/day starting from the day of oocyte retrieval while
the control group received no treatment. The primary outcome was clinical pregnancy rate and the secondary outcomes were implantation rate and
miscarriage rate.
Results: 108 women (53 in the study group and 55 in the control group)
subjected to final analysis. There was no significant difference between
the study and control groups as regard the clinical pregnancy rate (45.3%
vs 32.7%; P = 0.237), implantation rate (22.1% vs 15.2%; P = 0.145) and
miscarriage rate (33.3% vs 33.3%; P = 1.000).
Conclusion: Administration of prednisolone in the luteal phase to women
with previous unexplained implantation failure does not result in significant increase in clinical pregnancy or implantation rates.