COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS OF 2.5 mg VERSUS 5 mg DOSES OF LETROZOLE FOR OVULATION INDUCTION IN WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME

Abstract

Background: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome PCOS accounts for over 75%of anovulatory infertility. Letrozole is an effective alternative to clomiphene citrate as a first line drug for
ovulation induction in women with PCOS. Letrozole has a definitive role in anovulatory women
who have not responded to the clomiphene citrate therapy.
Aim: The objective of this study is to compare the safety and efficacy of two doses of Letrozole
2.5 mg and 5 mg as ovulation induction drug in infertile women with PCOS.
Materials and methods: This was a comparative observational study. After fulfilling the selection criteria, total 90 females of PCOS were enrolled and randomly divided into two equal groups. One is treated with Letrozole 2.5mg and other is 5mg, starting from the 2nd day of menses for 5 days. Socio-demographic parameters, duration of infertility, ovulation rate, number of matured follicles, endometrial thickness, primary and secondary outcome were measured
Results: There is no statistical significant difference found between Letrozole 2.5mg and
Letrozole 5mg group in terms of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics (P>0.05). The
ovulation rate was slightly higher in Letrozole 2.5mg group (96%) as compared to Letrozole 5mg group (92%), but not statistically significant (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in number of days to achieve follicular maturity and mean endometrial thickness at hCG
administration between both groups (p>0.05). The common side effects of Letrozole therapy were nausea, dizziness and ovarian cyst formation
Conclusion: This study has shown that both the doses 2.5 mg and 5 mg Letrozole have equal
effectiveness for ovulation induction and it recommends the use of 2.5 mg letrozole dose for
initiation of ovulation induction in PCOS.