ArticleContraception and reproductive medicine2019
Ovulation rates in a stair-step protocol with Letrozole vs clomiphene citrate in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Article in Contraception and reproductive medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06486870 (Comparative Study Between Two Ovulation Induction Therapies and Laparoscopic Ovarian Drilling on Clinical Outcomes in Clomiphene Citrate-Resistant PCOS Women), which is not on this map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Comparative Study Between Two Ovulation Induction Therapies and Laparoscopic Ovarian Drilling on Clinical Outcomes in Clomiphene Citrate-Resistant PCOS Women
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of fertility treatments on headache disorders: a systematic review with an overview of treatment modalities.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Pooled it
- Letrozole and clomiphene versus letrozole alone for ovulation induction in women with PCOS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2025Pooled it
- Comparing efficacy and safety of stair step protocols for clomiphene citrate and letrozole in ovulation induction for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): a randomized controlled clinical trial.Journal of medicine and life · 2023Trial
- Comparative study of two ovulation induction therapies and laparoscopic ovarian drilling on clinical outcomes in women with clomiphene citrate-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome.Clinical and experimental reproductive medicine · 2026Article
- Letrozole at the Crossroads of Efficacy and Fetal Safety in Ovulation Induction: A Narrative Review.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- A Novel Letrozole Stair-Step Duration Regimen for Ovulation Induction in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Letrozole Resistance.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Article
- A comparison of letrozole regimens for ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.F&S reports · 2024Article
- Ovulation induction with letrozole and dexamethasone in infertile patients with letrozole-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2023Article
- Article
- Finding of the optimal preparation and timing of endometrium in frozen-thawed embryo transfer: a literature review of clinical evidence.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- D-chiro-inositol Induces Ovulation in Non-Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), Non-Insulin-Resistant Young Women, Likely by Modulating Aromatase Expression: A Report of 2 Cases.The American journal of case reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo compare ovulation rates between Letrozole and Clomiphene Citrate (CC) using a stair-step protocol to achieve ovulation induction in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
methodsThis is a retrospective cohort of predominantly Hispanic PCOS women of reproductive age who completed ovulation induction (OI) comparing women who underwent Letrozole stair-step protocol to those who underwent OI with CC stair-step. All women had a diagnosis of PCOS based on the 2003 Rotterdam criteria. For both protocols, sequentially higher doses of Letrozole or CC were given 7 days after the last dose if no dominant follicles were seen on ultrasonography. The primary outcome was ovulation rate (determined by presence of a dominant follicle) between the two treatment groups. Secondary outcomes included time to ovulation, clinical pregnancy rates and side effects.
results49 PCOS patients completed a Letrozole stair-step cycle and 43 completed a CC stair-step cycle for OI. Overall, demographics were comparable between both groups. Ovulation rates with the Letrozole stair-step protocol were equivalent to CC stair-step protocol (96% vs 88%,
conclusionsThis is the first study to date that has compared the efficacy of the stair-step protocol in PCOS patients using Letrozole and CC. Both Letrozole and CC can be prescribed in a stair-step fashion. Letrozole stair-step was as efficacious as CC stair-step; patients achieved comparable rates of ovulation and clinical pregnancy. Time to ovulation was shorter in the Letrozole protocol.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.