Is early-follicular long-acting GnRH agonist protocol an alternative for patients with polycystic ovary syndrome undergoing in vitro fertilization?

BACKGROUND: We aimed to compare the clinical and perinatal outcomes of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) treatment with either an early-follicular long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) long protocol (EFLL) or a midluteal short-acting GnRH-a long protocol (MLSL). METHODS: This single–center, retrospective study, included patients with PCOS who underwent IVF/ICSI from January 2013 to June 2019 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. Patients underwent either MLSL (1179 cycles) or EFLL (2390 cycles). The primary outcomes were pregnancy outcomes, perinatal and maternal complications. RESULTS: Fresh embryo transfer (59.12% vs. 55.47%, P = 0.038), clinical pregnancy (75.23% vs. 53.82%, P = 0.001), and live birth rates (63.27% vs. 42.05%, P = 0.010) were higher in the EFLL group. However, the proportion of patients “freezing all" for high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) (24.27% vs. 32.06%, P = 0.001) and ectopic pregnancy (1.51% vs. 5.97%, P = 0.002) were lower in the EFLL group than in the MLSL group. The incidence of gestational diabetes was higher in the EFLL group than in the MLSL group (5.08% vs. 1.42%, RR 3.714, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.474–9.360, P = 0.003). There were no significant differences in the incidence of hypertension, premature rupture of membranes, placenta previa, congenital heart disease, or neonatal weight between the two groups. Logistic regression results showed that age (OR 0.966, 95% CI 0.941–0.993, P = 0.013), treatments (OR 2.380, 95% CI 1.833–3.089, P = 0.001), and endometrial thickness on trigger day (OR 1.115, 95% CI 1.070–1.162, P = 0.001) were correlated with clinical pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy BMI (OR 1.098, 95% CI 1.002–1.204, P = 0.046), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (OR 3.096, 95% CI 1.900–5.046, P = 0.001), and treatments (OR 3.458, 95% CI 1.359–8.800, P = 0.009) were correlated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Treatments (OR 0.291, 95% CI 0.148–0.575, P = 0.001) and endometrial thickness on trigger day (OR 0.834, 95% CI 0.722–0.962, P = 0.013) were correlated with ectopic pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The early-follicular long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol can be used as an ideal assisted reproductive technology (ART) pregnancy assistance program for patients with PCOS, but obese patients should be encouraged to lose weight before ART treatments to reduce the risk of GDM. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12958-022-01007-z.