(Review Study) Comparison of The Efficacy of Letrozole Versus Clomiphene Citrate in Iranian Infertile Women

Introduction: This study aimed to systematically compare the efficacy of letrozole with clomiphene citrate in infertile women.Method:All Iranian papers on comparison of the efficacy of letrozole versus clomiphene citrate indexed in databases during 2008- January 2018 were explored. Findings:Sixteen eligible RCTs involving 2252 patients were included in the review. Eight studies (50%) reported equal total success for letrozole and clomiphene. In one study (6.3%) letrozole was not highly successful compared toclomiphene and in 7 studies (43.8%) letrozole was more effective than clomiphene. Average age for letrozole group was 27.92 ± 3.38 and it was 28.23 ± 4.1 for clomiphene group. Average infertility period for letrozole and clomiphene citrate were respectively 3.95 ± 1.69 and 3.85 ± 1.81 years. Letrozole dosage was 5 mg in 68.8%, 5.2 mg in 25% and 5.2 - 7 mg in 6.3% of the reviewed studies. Clomiphene citrate dosages were calculated as 100 mg, 5.87 mg and 5.12 mg. In 73.3% of cases drugs were administered on days 3to 7, in 18.8% of cases they were administered on days 3 to 5 and only in one study (6.3%) they were administered on day 3. Information on pregnancy success and complications were not reported in all studies. Discussion and Conclusions:Although present study has several limitations, it suggests that letrozole may be as effective as clomiphene citrate for ovulation induction in patients with PCOS and it can be introduced as a first-line treatment for PCOS.

کلیدواژه ها:

Infertility Drugs ، Letrozole ، Clomiphene Citrate ، Iran