Effect of piroxicam administration in infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To evaluate piroxicam effect on different pregnancy outcomes among infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Methods: We searched for the available randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in four different databases during January 2021 that compared piroxicam (intervention group) to placebo/no treatment (control group) in infertile women performing ART. We extracted the available data from included studies and pooled them in a meta-analysis model using RevMan software. We pooled the dichotomous data as risk ratios (RR) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) using RevMan software. Our outcomes were rates of clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, miscarriage, and any adverse events.

Results: Seven RCTs met our inclusion criteria with a total number of 1226 patients. Piroxicam was linked to a significant increase in clinical pregnancy rate compared to control group (RR = 1.30, 95% CI [1.09, 1.55], p = .003). However, we did not report any significant difference between both groups in ongoing pregnancy rate (RR = 1.27, 95% CI [0.72, 2.24], p = .41). In addition, the rates of miscarriage and adverse events were not different among both groups.

Conclusions: Piroxicam administration increases the clinical pregnancy rate among infertile women. However, piroxicam does not affect miscarriage and ongoing pregnancy rates.