The effects of clomiphene citrate on normally ovulatory women

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of clomiphene citrate (CC) on normally ovulatory women who complained of infertility. Design: A randomized study. Setting: University Hospital. Patient(s): Thirty-three normally ovulatory women with unexplained infertility. Intervention(s): Eighteen women received CC at a 50-mg dosage. Fifteen women received no ovulation-induction drugs. Main Outcome Measures: The pregnancy rate (PR) per patient, the PR per cycle, and the cumulative pregnancy rate. Result(s): Seven patients in the CC group stopped taking CC, and observations were terminated because of antiestrogenic effects. The pregnancy rate (PR) per patient and the PR per cycle were significantly decreased (P <0.005) in the CC group (4 of 18 [22.2%] and 4 of 66 [6.1%], respectively) than in the spontaneous group (11 of 15 [73.3%] and 11 of 52 [21.2%], respectively). Kaplan-Meier tests showed that the cumulative pregnancy rate in the CC group was significantly lower than in the spontaneous group (P <0.05). Five of seven patients who had stopped taking CC became pregnant in spontaneous cycles. Conclusion(s): Administration of CC to normally ovulatory women is not efficacious in terms of increasing the pregnancy rate. (C) 1997 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.