The success rates for clomid for unexplained infertility?

[nlakshmi]

What are the usually success rates for clomid for unexplained infertility?

In couples whose infertility remains unexplained after careful and thorough evaluation, empiric treatment with Clomiphene Citrate (CC) may be justified, particularly in young couples with a short duration of infertility and in those unwilling or unable to pursue more aggressive therapies involving greater costs, risks, and logistical demands.

The efficacy of empiric CC treatment may be attributed to correction of subtle and unrecognized ovulatory dysfunction and/or "superovulation" of more than a single ovum. CC treatment is most effective when it is combined with properly timed intrauterine insemination (IUI), all in an effort to bring together more than the usual numbers of ova and sperm at the optimal time.

A "Special Contribution" published in the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's journal Fertility & Sterility in 1998 reviewed the efficacy of infertility treatments for unexplained infertility and concluded the following:

Combined pregnancy rates per initiated cycle, adjusted for study quality:

No treatment 1.3% - 4.1%
IUI 3.8%
Clomiphene Citrate/timed intercourse 5.6%
Clomiphene Citrate/IUI 8.3%
Gonadotropin/timed intercourse 7.7%
Gonadotropin /IUI 17.1%
IVF 20.7%
GIFT 27.0%

Since the time of publication, IVF rates have markedly improved, and the GIFT procedure has almost completely been abandoned.

Are success rates for unexplained infertility the same regardless of 2 years versus 7 years of infertility?

Generally speaking, the longer the duration of unexplained infertility, the lower the success rates.