Abstract
Background
The previous model-based cost-effectiveness analyses regarding elective oocyte cryopreservation remained debatable, while the usage rate may influence the cost per live birth. The ...aim of this study is to disclose the usage and cost-effectiveness of the planned cryopreserved oocytes after oocyte thawing in real-world situations.
Methods
This was a retrospective single-center observational study. Women who electively cryopreserved oocytes and returned to thaw the oocytes were categorized as thawed group. The oocytes were fertilized at our center and the sperm samples for each individual was retrieved from their respective husbands. Clinical outcomes were traced and the cumulative live birth rate per thawed case was calculated. The costs from oocyte freezing cycles to oocyte thawing, and embryo transfer cycles were accordingly estimated. The cumulative cost per live birth was defined by the cumulative cost divided by the live births per thawed case.
Results
We recruited 645 women with 840 oocyte retrieval cycles for elective oocyte freezing from November 2002 to December 2020. The overall usage rate was 8.4% (54/645). After the storage duration exceeded ten years, the probabilities of thawing oocytes were 10.6%, 26.6%, and 12.7% from women who cryopreserved their oocytes at the age ≤ 35 years, 36–39 years, and ≥ 40 years, respectively (
P
= 0.304). Among women who thawed their oocytes, 31.5% (17/54) of women achieved at least one live birth. For the age groups of ≤ 35 years, 36–39 years, and ≥ 40 years, the cumulative live birth rates per thawed case were 63.6%, 42.3%, and 17.6%, respectively (
P
= 0.045), and the cumulative costs for one live birth were $11,704, $17,189, and $35,642, respectively (
P
< 0.001).
Conclusions
The overall usage rate was 8.4% in our cohort. The cumulative live birth rate was greatest in the youngest group and the cumulative cost per live birth was highest in the oldest group, which was threefold greater than that in the group aged ≤ 35 years. The findings added to the limited evidence of the usage rate in real-world situations, which could hopefully aid future analysis and decision-making in public health policy and for women willing to preserve fertility.
Trial registration
None.
Previous studies indicated that progesterone can be withdrawn at the time of the first positive β-hCG test without compromising the clinical pregnancy outcome in normal ovarian responder. However, ...the effect of early stop of progesterone supplementation for patients with poor ovarian response (POR) has not been investigated. This study retrospectively collected data from patients with POR in 156 IVF/ICSI fresh embryo transfer (ET) cycles in single tertiary center from January 2010 to June 2016. All the patients met ESHRE consensus, the Bologna criteria, of POR and had hCG injection for luteal phase support (LPS) on day 2, 5 and 8 after ovum pick-up. The pregnant patients were divided into two groups: early stop group represented those who stopped LPS from day of positive pregnancy test; control group represented those who kept progesterone supplementation till gestational age of 9 weeks. There were no significant differences in age, BMI, parity, hormone data, number of follicles>10(mm), endometrial thickness and number of embryos transferred between the two groups. After adjustment for possible confounders with multivariate logistic regression analysis, the clinical pregnancy rates (55.0% vs. 57.1%, P = 0.35), ongoing pregnancy rates (47.0% vs. 46.4%, P = 0.66), miscarriage rates (34.0% vs. 26.7%, P = 0.66) and live-birth rates (44.0% vs. 46.4%, P = 0.41) were not statistically different between early stop group and the control group. Our study indicates that early stop of progesterone supplementation on the day of positive pregnancy test for patients of POR using hCG as LPS in fresh ET cycles does not affect pregnancy outcome.
Introduction
The failure of remodeling the spiral arteries is associated with the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Estradiol (E2) plays a crucial role in placentation and may be involved in the ...development of preeclampsia. However, there is a lack of data in this area. This study aims to assess the association between serum estradiol levels in early pregnancy and the risk of preeclampsia.
Methods
We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients who conceived after frozen embryo transfer (FET) using data from a database at a university-affiliated
in vitro
fertilization center. The study period spanned from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2020. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the adjusted effect of E2 levels on the risk of preeclampsia. We compared the odds ratios of preeclampsia across quartiles of E2 levels and assessed their significance.
Results
Serum E2 levels at the fifth gestational week were significantly different between women with and without preeclampsia after FET programmed cycles (607.5 ± 245.4 vs. 545.6 ± 294.4 pg/ml, p=0.009). A multivariable logistic regression model demonstrated that E2 levels in early pregnancy were independent risk factors for preeclampsia. We observed an increased odds ratio of preeclampsia with increasing quartiles of estradiol levels after adjusting for potential confounders in FET programmed cycles. When comparing quartiles 3 and 4 (E2 > 493 pg/ml at the fifth gestational week) to quartiles 1 and 2, the odds ratios of preeclampsia were significantly higher.
Conclusion
We found that serum E2 levels in early pregnancy may impact the risk of preeclampsia, particularly following FET programmed cycles. The association between E2 levels in early pregnancy and preeclampsia deserves further investigation.
Background
Risk factors associated with a suboptimal response to Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists include a high or low body mass index (BMI), prolonged use of oral contraceptive pills, ...and low luteinizing hormone (LH) levels on either the start or trigger days of controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). However, this approach may increase the need for a dual trigger and may also result in a higher incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in hyper-responders. We aimed to investigate whether the maximum LH level during stimulation can serve as a predictive factor for achieving an optimal oocyte yield using the GnRH agonist trigger alone.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed all antagonist protocols or progestin-primed ovarian stimulation (PPOS) protocols triggered with GnRH agonist only between May 2012 and December 2022. Subjects were divided into three groups, depending on basal LH level and LH maximum level. The freeze-all strategy was implemented in all cycles: Group 1, consistently low LH levels throughout COS; Group 2, low basal LH level with high LH max level during COS; Group 3, consistently high LH levels throughout COS. The primary outcome was the oocyte yield rate. The secondary outcome includes the number of collected oocytes, suboptimal response to GnRH agonist trigger, oocyte maturity rate, fertilized rate, clinical pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, and live birth rate. The pregnancy outcomes were calculated for the first FET cycle.
Results
Following confounder adjustment, multivariable regression analysis showed that Group 1 (cycles with consistently low LH levels throughout COS) remains an independent predictor of suboptimal response (OR: 6.99; 95% CI 1.035–47.274). Group 1 (b = −12.72; 95% CI −20.9 to −4.55) and BMI (b = −0.25; 95% CI −0.5 to −0.004) were negatively associated with oocyte yield rate. Patients with low basal LH but high LH max levels had similar clinical outcomes compared to those with high LH max levels through COS.
Conclusions
The maximum LH level during COS may serve as an indicator of LH reserve and could be a more reliable predictor of achieving an optimal oocyte yield when compared to relying solely on the basal LH level. In the case of hyper-responders where trigger agents (agonist-only or dual trigger) are being considered, we propose a novel strategy that incorporates the maximum LH level, rather than just the basal or trigger-day LH level, as a reference for assessing LH reserve. This approach aims to minimize the risk of obtaining suboptimal oocyte yield and improve overall treatment outcomes.
To analyze the prevalence of intrauterine adhesion (IUA) formation in women undergoing transcervical resection (TCR) for submucous myomas.
Retrospective cohort study.
Tertiary university hospital.
...One hundred fifty-three women undergoing TCR for submucous myomas were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 132 women had a solitary myoma (group 1), 5 had two submucous myomas not in apposition to each other and who received postoperative intrauterine device (IUD) placement (group 2), 9 had two or more apposing submucous myomas and received IUD placement (group 3), and 7 had two or more apposing submucous myomas and who underwent subsequent office hysteroscopic early lysis of IUA (group 4).
Placement of an IUD for 1 month (groups 2 and 3) or office hysteroscopy for early lysis of IUA within 2 weeks after hysteroscopic myomectomy (group 4).
Diagnostic office hysteroscopy was done 1-3 months after hysteroscopic myomectomy to evaluate whether there was permanent formation of IUA.
Two (1.5%) of 132 women in group 1 had IUA. For women receiving IUD placement; none of the 5 women in group 2 and 7 (78%) of 9 women in group 3 had IUA. For women undergoing office hysteroscopic early lysis of adhesion bands (group 4), none of 7 women had IUA.
Intrauterine adhesion is a common complication after TCR for apposing submucous myomas, but not for a solitary myoma. Office hysteroscopy within 2 weeks after TCR is an easy and effective procedure in separating the newly formed IUA.
The role of LH during controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in the general population remains contentious. There is no consensus on the indications for LH supplementation during COS. The purpose of ...this study is to determine whether menotropin supplement is associated with decreases in early pregnancy loss rates in patients exhibiting low endogenous LH during COS.
This is a single-center, retrospective cohort from a university-affiliated hospital. Patients were enrolled from the in-vitro fertilization center from January, 2011 to December, 2014. Patients who experienced a LH level ≦ 0.8 mIU/mL during stimulation were identified, and patients that received menotropin supplementation were compared to those without menotropin supplementation. Outcome variables, including the number of oocytes retrieved, embryos obtained, implantation rates, pregnancy rates and early pregnancy loss rates, were compared.
Patients that experienced low LH during GnRH antagonist protocol and were supplemented with menotropin were associated with lower early pregnancy loss when compared with patients without menotropin supplementation (26.7% vs. 11.5%, p = 0.045). More specifically, in patients who exhibited early-onset low LH, before the use of GnRH antagonists, menotropin supplementation was associated with significantly lower early pregnancy loss compared with non-supplemented patients (3.3% vs. 29.0%, OR: 0.08, p = 0.012). Beneficial effects persisted after adjusting for confounders (aOR: 0.103, 95% CI: 0.011–0.933).
Menotropin supplementation is associated with decreased early pregnancy loss in patient who exhibited low LH during GnRH antagonist cycles. This effect is especially prominent in patients who experience low LH before the start of GnRH antagonists.
To study the impact of stimulation duration on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) - embryo transfer (ET) outcome in poor and normal responders during controlled ovarian stimulation using ...gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol.
This is a retrospective cohort study. There were 1481 women undergoing ICSI-ET cycles. Women with ovum pick-up number ≤3 were defined as poor responders (n = 235), and those with a number ≥4 were normal responders (n = 1246).
The mean stimulation duration was shorter in poor responders with pregnancy group as compared with normal responders with pregnancy group (7.8 ± 2.2 vs. 9.2 ± 1.6 days, p < 0.01). Poor responders with a shortest stimulation duration (≤6 days) appeared a higher live birth rate (≤6 days: 33.3%, 7–8 days: 20.0%, 9–10 days: 15.9%, and ≥11 days: 11.1%, p = 0.18). Normal responders with a shortest stimulation duration (≤6 days) appeared a lowest live birth rate (≤6 days: 28.6%, 7–8 days: 35.8%, 9–10 days: 33.6%, and ≥11 days: 29.3%, p = 0.61). Oocyte maturation rate was significantly lower at stimulation durations ≤6 days group (≤6 days: 67%, 7–8 days: 80%, 9–10 days: 85%, and ≥11 days: 87%, p = 0.02) in normal responders.
In ICSI-ET cycles, stimulation duration appears to have different impact on oocyte maturation, clinical pregnancy rates and live birth rates in both poor and normal responders.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that peritoneal macrophages from women with endometriosis produce excess nitric oxide (NO). This study was designed to quantify the amount of NO and determine ...the expression of endothelial (eNOS) and inducible NO synthases (iNOS) in women with and without endometriosis. METHODS: An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed on endometrial tissues obtained from controls (myoma, n = 30) and on eutopic/ectopic endometrial tissues from endometriosis patients (n = 34) to evaluate eNOS and iNOS protein concentrations in these endometrial tissues. A rapid‐response chemiluminescence analyser was used to measure NO directly in fresh endometrial tissues. RESULTS: Mean (± SEM) levels of NO were significantly increased in the endometrial tissues of women with endometriosis (13.2 ± 7.8 versus 19.8 ± 12.6 nmol/g tissue; P = 0.016). Apparently higher levels of NO were found in ectopic compared with eutopic endometrium (P = 0.057). Endometrial tissues of women with endometriosis appeared to contain more iNOS than those of controls (3.6 ± 2.2 versus 8.6 ± 12.2 pg/µg protein; P = 0.06), but no significant difference was found in eNOS levels. CONCLUSIONS: Greater amounts of NO and NOS are present in the endometrial tissues of women with endometriosis, implying a possible role for NO in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.
Abstract Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a relatively common complication of ovarian stimulation and can be life threatening. The pathophysiology of OHSS is characterized by increased ...capillary permeability, leading to leakage of fluid from the vascular compartment, with third-space fluid accumulation and intravascular dehydration. The increased intra-abdominal pressure indicated that OHSS may be considered a compartment syndrome. Vascular endothelial growth factor, also known as vascular permeability factor, has emerged as one of the mediators intrinsic to the development of OHSS. Conventional management is focused on supportive care until the spontaneous resolution of the condition. The standard of care for treatment—monitoring of appropriate clinical parameters, fluid balance management, thrombosis prophylaxis, and ascites treatment—should prevent severe morbidity in most cases. This review will cover inpatient and outpatient management. The potential therapeutic approach targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor system will be discussed.
Objective: This study aims to compare the efficacy, tolerability and patient satisfaction between aqueous subcutaneous progesterone (Prolutex, 25 mg/vial; IBSA) and vaginal progesterone (Crinone, 90 ...mg/tube; Merck) as luteal support for fresh embryo transfers in in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Materials & Methods: In this prospective randomized study, 65 patients who underwent IVF were recruited and randomly assigned to either the Prolutex (25 mg daily, n = 33) or Crinone (90 mg daily, n = 32) group. The luteal support regimens were given daily, starting from two days after oocyte pickup. If the serum pregnancy test was positive, luteal support was continued until 7 weeks of gestation. Primary outcomes were clinical pregnancy rate and serum progesterone level at the mid-luteal phase and at 4 weeks of gestation. Secondary outcomes were drug tolerability and patient satisfaction assessed by questionnaire. Results: There were no significant differences in clinical pregnancy rates (Prolutex 25.0% versus Crinone 33.3%, p = 0.699), serum progesterone levels and patient satisfaction between Prolutex and Crinone group. Although the patients that had received Prolutex complained of more local pain at the injection sites, they also had less annoying vaginal discharges and vulvar discomforts. Conclusion: Prolutex is of comparable efficacy and patient satisfaction to Crinone, and its availability means patients have more options in regards to the routes of progesterone administration as luteal phase support during IVF.
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