Comparison of Day 14 Serum Progesterone Level Based on Pregnancy Outcome in Patients Undergoing Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Cycles

Serum progesterone level (as early as 4 weeks gestation) reflects the relation between embryo and corpus luteum. The purpose of the present study was to compare serum progesterone level on day 14 after embryo transfer among 3 groups of patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles; normal pregnancy (viable intrauterine pregnancy), abnormal pregnancy (miscarriage, ectopic, and biochemical pregnancy), or nonpregnant. In the present study, 103 patients undergoing ICSI, were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into 3 groups according to pregnancy outcome; normal pregnancy, abnormal pregnancy, and nonpregnant. Baseline and stimulation characteristics and day 14 progesterone level of patients were compared among groups. Day 14 serum progesterone levels were significantly different among groups; 54.3 ng/ml in normal pregnancy, 39.8 ng/ml in abnormal pregnancy, and 26.2 ng/ml in nonpregnant groups (P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed among the groups in terms of age (P = 0.081), BMI (P = 0.247), baseline follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (P = 0.133), and baseline anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) (P = 0.576), male factor infertility (P = 0.790), total number of retrieved oocyte (P = 0.891), metaphase II oocytes (P = 0.918), and estradiol level on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) or human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) administration (P = 0.838). We determined the 39.5 ng/ml progesterone concentration as the cut-off point with 62% sensitivity and 69% specificity. Despite using the same dose of progesterone supplements, day 14 serum progesterone level was significantly higher in women who achieved normal pregnancy after ICSI compared with others.