Summary of findings for the main comparison. Human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) priming for subfertile women undergoing in vitro maturation (IVM).
| HCG priming versus no priming in women undergoing IVM treatment for subfertility | ||||||
| Population: Subfertile women undergoing in vitro maturation Setting: Assisted reproduction clinic Intervention: 10,000 units hCG Comparison: No priming | ||||||
| Outcomes | Anticipated absolute effects* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No. of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Risk with no priming | Risk with 10,000 units hCG | |||||
| Live Birth Rate | Moderate (median) risk | OR 0.65 (0.24 to 1.74) | 82 (1 RCT) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ LOW 1,2 | ||
| 310 per 1000 | 226 per 1000 (97 to 439) | |||||
| Miscarriage Rate | Moderate (median) risk | OR 0.60 (0.21 to 1.72) | 282 (2 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ LOW 1,2 | ||
| 70 per 1000 | 43 per 1000 (16 to 115) | |||||
| Clinical Pregnancy Rate | Moderate (median) risk | OR 0.52 (0.26 to 1.03) | 282 (2 RCTs) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ LOW 1,2 | ||
| 225 per 1000 | 131 per 1000 (70 to 230) | |||||
| Adverse events and drug reactions | No study reported data on any adverse events (apart from miscarriage) nor on drug reactions | |||||
| *The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: Confidence interval; RR: Risk ratio; OR: Odds ratio; | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: We are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect Moderate quality: We are moderately confident in the effect estimate: The true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different Low quality: Our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: The true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect Very low quality: We have very little confidence in the effect estimate: The true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect | ||||||
1. Downgraded one level due to serious imprecision ‐ low total number of events. Confidence intervals compatible with no difference between the arms, or with benefit in either arm.
2. Downgraded one level due to serious risk of bias ‐ high risk of performance bias in all studies, as participants not blinded (as placebo not used)