Effect of intrauterine granulocyte-colony stimulating factor administration on in vitro fertilization outcome in women with moderate-to-severe endometriosis: An RCT

BACKGROUND: Nearly 25-50% of infertile women have endometriosis. There are reports of disorders in the expression of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) receptors in women with endometriosis. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of intrauterine administration of G-CSF in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles on the fertility rate of infertile women with moderate-to-severe endometriosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This clinical trial was conducted on 66 infertile women with moderate-to-severe endometriosis, undergoing IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The participants were allocated into two groups via simple randomization: the G-CSF (n = 27) and control (n = 39) groups. In the G-CSF intervention group, on the oocyte pick-up day, immediately after an ovarian puncture, 300 μg of G-CSF was injected through a transcervical catheter under abdominal ultrasound guide to visualize flushing into the uterine cavity. Women in the control group received no intervention. The two groups were evaluated for clinical pregnancy. RESULTS: No significant difference was noted in the demographic characteristics of the two groups. The rate of clinical pregnancy was 28.2% in the control group and 25.9% in the G-CSF group, indicating no significant difference (p = 0.83). CONCLUSION: The results showed that the intrauterine injection of G-CSF had no effects on pregnancy in women with stage-3/4 endometriosis undergoing IVF.