Evaluation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor effects on treatment-resistant thin endometrium in women undergoing in vitro fertilization

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) effects on unresponsive thin (<7 mm) endometrium in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). We included thirty-seven subjects who had thin unresponsive endometrium on the day of triggering ovulation. These patients also failed to achieve an adequate endometrial thickness in at least one of their previous IVF cycles. In all the subjects at the time of infusion of G-CSF, endometrial thickness was 6,74 ± 1,75 mm, and, after infusion, it increased significantly to 8,42 ± 1,73 mm. When we divided the group into two subgroups according to whether the examined women conceived, we showed that the endometrium expanded significantly from 6,86 ± 1,65 to 8,80 ± 1,14 mm in the first group (who conceived) and from 6,71 ± 1,80 to 8,33 ± 1,85 mm in the second, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two subgroups in respect to the endometrial thickness both before and after G-CSF infusion. The clinical pregnancy rate was 18,9%. We concluded that the infusion of G-CSF leads to the improvement of endometrium thickness after 72 hours. © 2014 Michał Kunicki et al.