Abstract
BACKGROUND: Among the numerous studies investigating the success rate of intrauterine insemination (IUI), there is a dearth of reliable and applicable data. This retrospective cohort study targeting women in infertile couples aims to provide insight into the local success rate of IUI and its determinants. OBJECTIVES: To determine the success (pregnancy) rate of IUI and its determinants among infertile couples. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on women in infertile couples at the King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) in-vitro fertilization (IVF) unit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 238 patients were selected utilizing a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. The success of IUI was determined by the percentage of couples who attained a clinical pregnancy after undergoing the procedure. Data was collected and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: The study included 238 women. Their age ranged between 21 and 49 years with an arithmetic mean±SD of 31.6±5.1 years. Regarding causes of infertility, female factors were responsible for 33.2% of cases whereas, in 59.6% of cases, the cause was described as unexplained. The success rate of IUI was 13.4%. Women's gravidity and parity were the only factors significantly associated with the success of IUI as the highest success rate was reported among women with gravidity of 2 (27.6%) and parity of 2 (36%). In contrast, the lowest rates were reported among those of gravidity of 1 (5.9%) and parity of ≥3 (5.9%) with p-values of 0.010 and 0.005, respectively. CONCLUSION: When compared to other fertility treatments, the success rate of IUI is relatively low; however, it is comparable to previously reported IUI success rates in other centers in developed countries. It is recommended that a large multi-center study with a bigger sample size be conducted to determine the accuracy on a larger scale. The findings from this study carry valuable implications for guiding the selection of suitable fertility treatments.