Can ovarian double-stimulation in the same menstrual cycle improve IVF outcomes?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the double-stimulation protocol efficacy over conventional ovarian stimulation in recovering a more adequate number of oocytes and increase the number of embryos to be transferred or to be genetically analyzed. METHODS: A retrospective and comparative study with 13 patients who underwent unsuccessful in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles with a conventional antagonist ovarian stimulation protocol and repeat the attempt with a double stimulation protocol. The following variables were analyzed: number of oocytes collected, mature oocytes collected, fertilization rate, blastocyst rate, biopsied blastocyst rate and euploidy rate. RESULTS: The double stimulation protocol had a significant higher number of oocytes collected (p=0.007) and mature oocytes to be injected (p=0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in fertilization (p=0.78) and blastocyst (p=0.59) rates. CONCLUSION: Double stimulation favors patients who are at risk of incurring several attempts of IVF to achieve pregnancy.