Clinical study on embryo transfer after human in vitro fertilization

Abstract

One hundred forty-six embryo transfers were carried out in the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Clinic at St. Pierre Hospital, Brussels, between November 1983 and February 1985. In each of these cases a series of characteristics of the replacement procedure was systematically recorded. Analysis of these data in relation to pregnancy rates indicated that no significant differences appeared among three different operators, the absence or occurrence of cervical bleeding and subjective evaluation of the procedure were related to the chances of establishing a pregnancy, and the duration of replacement had no influence on the outcome of trials. A prospective randomized study of 100 replacements showed that no better pregnancy rate was obtained by placing patients in the knee-to-chest rather than the dorsal position and the addition of a rigid external sleeve to the catheter did not provide any advantage. A simplified method of replacement is thus advocated.

Optimizing the technique of embryo transfer

“…An abundance of literature suggests that the overall ''ease'' of the ET is strongly correlated to pregnancy outcome (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Despite the apparent simplicity of this procedure, difficult transfers often occur and have been shown to significantly lower pregnancy rates (PR) and implantation rates compared with easy transfers.…”

REVIEW: The junctional zone of the uterus and its contractions

“…The technique of ET is known to be important. An atraumatic ET is more frequently associated with a successful outcome 54–58 and some ET techniques are more frequently associated with ectopic pregnancies 59–61 . Not surprisingly, there is a strong correlation between ET technique and subsequent uterine contractility.…”

Bleeding during transfer is the only parameter of patient anatomy and embryo quality that affects reproductive outcome: a prospective study

“…Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, Goudas et al associated the presence of blood in the transfer catheter with low rates of embryo implantation and pregnancy in IVF with patients' own oocytes (9), and this fact was confirmed by other authors (10,11).…”