July 23, 2009
Embryo implantation is predicted using various parameters such as follicle size, oocyte quality, endometrial thickness, and the estrogen levels on the day of hCG administration. Due to the multifactorial influence on successful implantation, a single independent predictor remains elusive. Now, a recent retrospective cohort study published online in Fertility and Sterility reports that the rate of fertilization is a robust independent predictor of successful implantation during ART.
Mitchell P Rosen, Assistant Adjunct Professor and colleagues from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, conducted the study to assess if fertilization rates could determine the oocyte quality and probably predict the implantation rate in patients undergoing IVF. The researchers considered couples undergoing IVF (3,603 cycles) during 2001 to 2007, and compared implantation rate with low and high fertilization rate. The correlation of implantation rate with confounding variables like day-3 estradiol levels, day-3 follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, oocyte number, antral follicle count, cycle attempts, age, number of embryos transferred, and embryo grading, was analyzed using univariate analyses. The prognostic value of fertilization rate was determined by multivariate analysis.
References
Rosen MP, Shen S, Rinaudo PF, Huddleston HG, McCulloch CE, Cedars MI. Fertilization rate is an independent predictor of implantation rate. Fertil Steril. 2009 Jun 26. [Epub ahead of print]