Endometrial histology and parentereal estrogen-progestogen administration.

During the sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth cycle of use, endometrial tissue was obtained through suction biopsy from 40 patients (mean age 26 years, mean number of pregnancies 3.5) receiving Deladroxate at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Family Planning Clinic. Tissue was obtained from Day 1-29 after the most recent injection. Deladroxate is composed of 150 mg of 16-alpha, 17-alpha dihydroxyprogesterone acetophenide and 10 mg of estradiol enanthate in an oil vehicle. Injections were parenteral and administered on the seventh, eighth, or ninth day of each cycle. In the 36 specimens considered adequate for evaluation, the histologic features studied and scored were glandular morphology, stromal morphology, and vascular morphology. During the first 9 days of the cycle, the time interval before, during, and immediately after each injection, glandular activity attributable to estrogenic action was evident. After the first cycle, throughout each entire cycle, including the brief interval of estrogenic effect, glandular vacuolation and predecidual stromal reaction secondary to progestational effect were seen. The endometrial histologies may have been affected by variabilities in the absorption of the parenterally administered prepartion or by selective absorption of the estrogen or progestogen. In the discussion comparisons are made to typical sequential and combination preparations.