Table 2.
Controlled ovarian stimulation and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer characteristics in study population.
| Characteristics | Ding-Kun Pill group (n = 231) | Placebo group (n = 231) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of days of COS (mean (SD)) | 9.6 (2.4) | 9.5 (2.4) | 0.504 |
| Total gonadotrophin dose administered (IU; mean (IQR)) | 2,100 (2,325) | 2,025 (1,350) | 0.269 |
| Estradiol on hCG trigger day (pg/ml; mean (IQR)) | 1,214.6 (857.3) | 1,281 (999) | 0.465 |
| Progesterone on hCG trigger day (ng/ml; mean (IQR)) | 0.6 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.5) | 0.427 |
| Method of fertilization: | 0.435 | ||
| IVF | 162/224 (72.3) | 170/225 (75.6) | |
| ICSI | 62/224 (27.7) | 55/225 (24.4) | |
| No. of oocytes retrieved (median (IQR)) | 6.0 (3.0) | 6.5 (4.0) | 0.855 |
| No. of two PN oocytes (fertilized; median (IQR)) † | 5.0 (3.0) | 4.0 (5.0) | 0.383 |
| No. of two PN cleavage zygotes (median (IQR)) | 5.0 (4.0) | 4.0 (4.0) | 0.279 |
| No. of embryos available for transfer (median (IQR)) | 3.0 (3.0) | 4.0 (3.0) | 0.265 |
No. of high-quality day 3 embryos (median (IQR)) 
|
2.0 (2.0) | 2.0 (2.0) | 0.355 |
| No. of high-quality blastocysts (median (IQR)) ‡ | 2.0 (1.0) | 1.0 (0) | 0.014 |
| No. of embryos transferred (mean (IQR)): | 2.0 (1.0) | 2.0 (1.0) | 0.983 |
| Single embryo transfer | 81/206 (39.3) | 82/209 (39.2) | 0.986 |
| Double embryo transfer | 125/206 (60.7) | 127/209 (60.8) | 0.986 |
| Embryo transfer stage: | 0.106 | ||
| Cleavage stage | 178/206 (86.4) | 191/209 (91.4) | |
| Blastocyst stage | 28/206 (13.6) | 18/209 (8.6) | |
| Fresh embryo transfer | 102/202 (50.5) | 121/207 (58.5) | 0.106 |
| Endometrial thickness on hCG trigger day (mm; mean (SD)) | 9.8 (1.8) | 9.9 (2.3) | 0.839 |
| Frozen-thawed embryo transfer | 100/202 (49.5) | 86/207 (41.5) | 0.106 |
| Endometrial thickness prior to FET (mm; mean (SD)) § | 9.1 (1.4) | 9.2 (1.7) | 0.877 |
| No. of women with no oocytes retrieved after COS | 4/225 (1.8) | 8/228 (3.5) | 0.264 |
| No. of women with no embryo transfer after aspiration: | 0.169 | ||
| No blastocyst development | 0/224 | 2/225 | |
| No day-3 embryo available for transfer | 14/224 | 9/225 | |
| Oocyte vitrification | 1/224 | 0/225 |
COS, controlled ovarian stimulation; hCG, human chorionic gonadotropin; IVF, in vitro fertilization; ICSI, intracytoplasmic sperm injection; IQR, interquartile range; SD, standard deviation.
†Two distinct pronuclei defined by four cells, a maximum of 10% fragmentation, and no multinucleation.
Typically, a good, normally growing day 3 embryos will contain between six and 10 cells.
‡Defined as Gardner score 3BB or higher.
§Programmed cycle defined by administration of both estradiol and progesterone.
Data are number/total number or number (%) unless stated otherwise.