Pregnancy Outcomes for Day 5 Versus Day 6 Single Frozen-thawed Blastocyst Transfer with Different Qualities of Embryos: A Large Matched-cohort Study

Objective This study aimed to determine whether the day of blastocyst expansion affects pregnancy outcomes in frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer(FBT)cycles.Methods A retrospective match-cohort study was conducted.Patients who underwent blastocyst transfer in frozen-thawed cycles at day 5 or 6 were matched for potential confounding factors.A total of 2207 matched pairs of FBT cycles were included from January 2016 to December 2019 in our Reproductive Medicine Center.Results The clinical pregnancy rate(CPR)and live birth rate(LBR)were significantly increased in day 5 blastocyst transfers when compared to day 6 blastocyst transfers,in terms of the same embryo quality.For FBT cycles with good-quality embryo,the CPR at day 5 and 6 was 61.30%and 57.56%,respectively(P=0.045),and the LBR was 44.79%and 36.16%,respectively(P<0.001).For FBT cycles with poor-quality embryo,the CPR at day 5 and 6 was 48.61%and 40.89%,respectively(P=0.006),and the LBR was 31.71%and 25.74%,respectively(P=0.019).The CPR for FBT cycles with good-quality embryo was statistically higher at day 6 than that at day 5 with poor-quality embryo transferred(57.56%vs.48.61%,P=0.001).Maternal age,anti-Müllerian hormone(AMH),endometrial thickness,embryo quality,and the day of blastocyst expansion were independently correlated with the CPR and LBR.The FBT cycles at day 5 had significantly higher CPR(adjusted odds ratio[OR]=1.246,95%confidence intervals[CI]:1.097–1.415,P=0.001)and LBR(adjusted OR=1.435,95%CI:1.258–1.637,P<0.001)than those at day 6.Conclusion The embryo quality is the primary indicator for FBT cycles.Day 5 blastocysts should be preferred when the quality of embryo at day 5 is the same as that at day 6.

Predictive Value of Initial Serum Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Levels for Pregnancies after Single Fresh and Frozen Blastocyst Transfer

As one of the earliest markers for predicting pregnancy outcomes, human chorionic gonadotropin(h CG) values have been inconclusive on reliability of the prediction after frozen and fresh embryo transfer(ET). In this retrospective study, patients with positive h CG(day 12 after transfer) were included to examine the h CG levels and their predictive value for pregnancy outcomes following 214 fresh and 1513 vitrified-warmed single-blastocyst transfer cycles. For patients who got clinical pregnancy, the mean initial h CG value was significantly higher after frozen cycles than fresh cycles, and the similar result was demonstrated for patients with live births(LB). The difference in h CG value existed even after adjusting for the potential covariates. The area under curves(AUC) and threshold values calculated by receiver operator characteristic curves were 0.944 and 213.05 m IU/m L for clinical pregnancy after fresh ET, 0.894 and 399.50 m IU/m L for clinical pregnancy after frozen ET, 0.812 and 222.86 m IU/m L for LB after fresh ET, and 0.808 and 410.80 m IU/mL for LB after frozen ET with acceptable sensitivity and specificity, respectively. In conclusion, single frozen blastocyst transfer leads to higher initial h CG values than single fresh blastocyst transfer, and the initial h CG level is a reliable predictive factor for predicting IVF outcomes.

Sperm DNA fragmentation does not affect the clinical outcomes in the cumulative transfers of an ICSI cycle along with blastocyst transfers in couples with normozoospermic male patients

Objective:To know whether sperm DNA fragmentation(SDF)affects the clinical outcomes in the cumulative transfers of an intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI)cycle along with blastocyst transfers in couples with normozoospermic males.Methods:The study included 252 couples who underwent their first ICSI cycles along with blastocyst transfer and whose male partner semen samples were normozoospermic according to the World Health Organization 2010 criteria.All the couples were classified into two groups based on the SDF:the low SDF group(SDF≤30%,n=162)and the high SDF group(SDF>30%,n=90).Clinical as well as laboratory outcomes were correlated between the two groups.Sperm DNA fragmentation was assessed on the post-wash semen samples by acridine orange test.The main outcome measures were the live birth rate and miscarriage rate.Results:A significant decrease in the live birth rates was observed in the high SDF group compared to the low SDF group in fresh embryo transfer cycles(P<0.05).However,no significant difference was observed in the clinical outcomes either in the frozen embryo transfer cycles or in the overall cumulative transfer cycles(P>0.05).No significant difference was observed in the laboratory outcomes between the two SDF groups.A remarkable decrease in sperm motility was observed in the high SDF group compared to the low SDF group(P<0.05).Conclusions:Sperm DNA fragmentation does not affect the clinical outcomes in the cumulative transfers of an ICSI cycle along with blastocyst transfers in couples with normozoospermic males.

Association between estradiol levels and clinical outcomes of IVF cycles with single blastocyst embryo transfer

Objective:To determine the correlation of different serum estradiol levels on the trigger day with the clinical and laboratory outcomes of in-vitro fertilization(IVF)cycles comprising a single fresh top-quality blastocyst transfer.Methods:This was a retrospective observational study performed in Morula IVF Clinic Jakarta.Five hundred forty-two women were recruited and grouped according to their serum estradiol levels on the trigger day of follicular maturation as follows:<2000 pg/mL,2000-2999 pg/mL,3000-3999 pg/mL,and≥4000 pg/mL.Clinical pregnancy and miscarriage rates were evaluated as the primary outcomes and embryology laboratory results as the secondary outcomes which consisted of the number of retrieved,mature,and fertilized oocytes,the total sum of derived embryos,and top-quality embryos at cleavage and blastocyst stage.Results:Clinical pregnancy and miscarriage rates did not differ among the groups(P>0.05).Nonetheless,the study demonstrated a positive correlation of the serum estradiol levels with the overall laboratory outcomes including the number of retrieved,mature,and fertilized oocytes,the total sum of derived embryos,and top-quality embryos at cleavage and blastocyst stage(P<0.001).The subject group with estradiol level of≥4000 pg/mL was superior to the other groups in its respective median number of retrieved,mature,fertilized oocytes,total derived embryos,and top-quality cleavage-and blastocyst-stage embryos.Conclusions:Although an apparent positive correlation is observed between estradiol levels and laboratory outcomes,serum estradiol level on hCG trigger day is not associated with the clinical outcomes of IVF.

Elective single blastocyst transfer is more suitable for normal responders than for high responders

Background Embryo quality and receptivity of the endometrium are two factors that determine the results of in vitro fertilization/intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer （IVF/ICSI-ET）. There is no consensus of the optimal transfer strategy for normal responders or high responders. The current study aimed to find the optimal transfer strategy for different subgroups of patients. Methods From April 2010 to December 2010, patients who meet the following criteria were included in this study; primary infertility, female age 〈35 years, FSH level on female cycle day 2-3 〈12 mlU/ml, at least six good quality embryos available on day three.The clinical outcomes using different transfer strategies between normal responders and high responders were reviewed and compared. Results For the normal responders, the clinical pregnancy rate of day three double-embryo transfer （DET） was comparable to that of day five elective single blastocyst transfer （eSBT）, 64.04% vs. 60.33% （P〉0.05）. For the high responders, the clinical pregnancy rate of day five eSBT was significantly lower than that of day three DET, 43.35% vs. 57.21% （P〈0.05）. For the high responders, the rates of clinical pregnancy and implantation in frozen-thawed embryo transfer （FET） cycles were notably higher than in eSBT cycles （64.56% vs. 43.35% and 62.11% vs. 43.35% respectively） （P〈0.05）. Conclusions For normal responders, eSBT might be an applicabte strategy to reduce multiple pregnancy rates while maintaining acceptable overall pregnancy rates. And in order to reduce multiple pregnancies and increase the chance of pregnancy of high responders, FET may be a preferable strategy.

Successful Pregnancy following Transfer of Embryo with Dissolved Zona Pellucida

This study aimed to describe a case of a patient with the spontaneous dissolution of zona pellucida(ZP)during cleavage embryo development after intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI).This patient experienced early abortion due to fetal chromosome 8 abnormality and received ICSI at 31 years of age.Time-lapse monitoring of embryo cleavage and blastocyst culture was performed,and we found that the ZP of embryos 1,2,4,and 5 dissolved gradually during the cleavage stage of embryo development.Five blastocysts that developed from 2 pronuclear zygotes were analyzed using next-generation sequencing,and one frozen-thawed blastocyst was transferred,resulting in intrauterine pregnancy.The results of amniotic fluid puncture showed normal fetal chromosomes.To our knowledge,this is the first report of ZP dissolution during the cleavage-stage embryo;however,the exact mechanism remains unknown.The morphological changes inferred that the granular matter in the periocular space was related to the dissolution of ZP through time-lapse observation.