scholarly journals Day 3 Embryo Fragmentation Is Associated With Singleton Birthweight Following Fresh Single Blastocyst Transfer:A Retrospective Study

Author(s):  
jiali Cai ◽  
Lanlan Liu ◽  
Jinghua Chen ◽  
Zhenfang Liu ◽  
Wenjie Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Previous studies arguably associated poor embryo morphology with low birthweight in singletons following single embryo transfer. However, the association between specific morphological features on the cleavage stage and birthweight is still less known. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether embryo morphological features at the cleavage stage affect birthweight following blastocyst transfer Methods The single-center, retrospective cohort study included 4226 singletons derived from fresh single cleavage stage embryo transfer (ET, n=1185), fresh single blastocyst transfer (BT, n=787), or frozen-thawed single blastocyst transfer (FBT, n=2254) between 2016 and 2019. The morphological parameters including early cleavage, day 3 fragmentation, symmetry, blastomere number, and blastocyst morphology were associated with neonatal birthweight and z-score in multivariate regression models. Models were adjusted for maternal age, BMI, parity, peak estradiol level, endometrial thickness, insemination protocol, female etiologies, order of transfer, mode of delivery, and year of treatment. Results Adjusted for confounders, fragmentation was the only morphology feature associated with birthweight and z-score, while early cleavage, symmetry, blastomere number and blastocyst morphology were not. Fragmentation increased the birthweight in both ET group (115.4g, 95% CI: 26.6 to 204.2) and BT group (168.8g, 95%CI: 48.8 to 288.8), but not in FBT group (7.47g, 95%CI: -46.4 to 61.3). The associations of birthweight and morphological parameters were confirmed in analyses for z-score. Adjusted odds of large for gestational age and high birthweight were also significantly greater in singletons following the transfer of fragmented embryos in BT group (OR 3, 95% CI: 1.2 to 7.51, OR 3.65, 95% CI: 1.33 to 10, respectively). The presence of fragmentation at the cleavage stage also affected the association between blastocyst morphology and birthweight. Inner cell mass grades were negatively associated with birthweight in blastocysts with day 3 fragmentation but not in blastocysts without. Conclusions Birthweight following blastocyst transfer is positively associated with fragmentation at the cleavage stage. The data did not support the argument that transferring a poor-looking embryo may increase the risks of low birthweight. However, concerns for LGA infants still remain.

2010 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 592-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelosa G. Papanikolaou ◽  
Human Fatemi ◽  
Christos Venetis ◽  
Pato Donoso ◽  
Efstratios Kolibianakis ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 2478-2487
Author(s):  
Jiayi Wu ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Yanping Kuang ◽  
Qiuju Chen ◽  
Yun Wang

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Does cell number on Day 3 have an impact on pregnancy outcomes in vitrified-thawed single blastocyst transfer cycles? SUMMARY ANSWER A low Day 3 cell number (≤5 cells) was independently associated with decreased live birth rate (LBR) during single blastocyst transfer cycles in young women. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Day 3 cell number is an effective predictor of IVF success rates when transferring cleavage stage embryos. However, the association between Day 3 blastomere number and pregnancy outcomes after blastocyst transfer is still unknown. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION A retrospective cohort study of 3543 patients who underwent frozen-thawed single blastocyst transfers from January 2013 to June 2018 at a tertiary-care academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Patients were grouped into six groups according to the Day 3 cell number: ≤4 cells, 5 cells, 6 cells, 7 cells, 8 cells and >8 cells. The primary outcome measure was LBR. A logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the independent association between Day 3 blastomere number and LBR after adjustment for some potential confounders. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE In women <35 years old, the LBR varied significantly according to Day 3 cell number, with the rate of 31.2%, 34.4%, 41.9%, 45.1%, 48.1% and 48.2% for the ≤4-cell, 5-cell, 6-cell, 7-cell, 8-cell and >8-cell groups, respectively (P < 0.001). This significant difference was also observed in the high- and low-quality blastocyst subgroups of young women. However, for women ≥35 years old, the rate of live birth was similar between groups. Furthermore, after accounting for confounding factors, the LBR was significantly decreased in the ≤4-cell (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.62, 95% CI: 0.48–0.80, P < 0.001) and 5-cell (aOR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.57–0.92, P = 0.009) groups as compared to the 8-cell group. Likewise, the blastocysts arising from ≤4-cell (aOR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.57–0.93, P = 0.010) or 5-cell (aOR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.61–0.97, P = 0.024) embryos were associated with lower clinical pregnancy rate than those from 8-cell embryos. No significant differences were observed in biochemical pregnancy rate and miscarriage rate. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION A limitation of the current study was its retrospective design. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Our observations suggested that a low Day 3 cell number was related to decreased LBR after blastocyst transfer in young women, which provided vital information for clinicians in selecting blastocyst during IVF treatment. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (31770989 to Y.W.; 81671520 to Q.C.) and the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital Foundation of China (JYLJ030 to Y.W.). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1716-1725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Marconi ◽  
Edwin Amalraj Raja ◽  
Siladitya Bhattacharya ◽  
Abha Maheshwari

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Are perinatal outcomes different between singleton live births conceived from fresh blastocyst transfer and those following the transfer of fresh cleavage-stage embryos? SUMMARY ANSWER Fresh blastocyst transfer does not increase risks of preterm birth (PTB), low/high birth weight or congenital anomaly and does not alter the sex ratio at birth or prejudice the chance of having a healthy baby. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Extended embryo culture is currently considered the best option for embryo selection, but concerns have been raised about increased risks of preterm delivery and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) babies. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION We conducted a retrospective cohort study based on data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) anonymised and cycle-based dataset in the UK between 1999 and 2011. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Baseline characteristics were compared between in vitro fertilisation (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) blastocyst-stage and cleavage-stage embryo transfer cycles using the χ2 test for categorical/dichotomised covariates and the Mann–Whitney test for continuous covariates. Statistical significance was set at <0.005. Poisson regression and multinomial logistic regression were used to establish relationships between perinatal outcomes and blastocyst-stage embryo transfer or cleavage-stage embryo transfer. Risk ratios (RRs), adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) and their 99.5% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated as a measure of strength of associations. Results were adjusted for clinically relevant covariates. A sub-group analysis included women undergoing their first IVF/ICSI treatment. The level of significance was set at <0.05, and 95% CIs were calculated in the sub-group analysis. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Of a total of 67 147 IVF/ICSI cycles, 11 152 involved blastocyst-stage embryo(s) and 55 995 involved cleavage-stage embryo(s). The two groups were comparable with regards to the risk of PTB (aRR, 1.00; 99.5% CI, 0.79–1.25), very-preterm birth (VPTB) (aRR, 1.00; 99.5% CI, 0.63–1.54), very-low birth weight (VLBW) (aRR, 0.84; 99.5% CI, 0.53–1.34), low birth weight (LBW) (aRR, 0.92; 99.5% CI, 0.73–1.16), high birth weight (HBW) (aRR, 0.94; 99.5% CI, 0.75–1.18) and very-high birth weight (VHBW) (aRR, 1.05; 99.5% CI, 0.66–1.65). The risk of congenital anomaly was 16% higher in the blastocyst-stage group than in the cleavage-stage group, but this was not statistically significant (aRR, 1.16; 99.5% CI, 0.90–1.49). The chance of having a healthy baby (born at term, with a normal birth weight and no congenital anomalies) was not altered by extended culture (aRR, 1.00; 99.5% CI, 0.93–1.07). Extended culture was associated with a marginal increase in the chance having a male baby in the main cycle-based analysis (aRR, 1.04; 99.5% CI, 1.01–1.09) but not in the sub-group analysis of women undergoing their first cycle of treatment (aRR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00–1.08). In the sub-group analysis, the risk of congenital anomalies was significantly higher after blastocyst-stage embryo transfer (aRR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.12–1.81). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION This study is limited by the use of observational data and inability to adjust for key confounders, such as maternal smoking status and body mass index (BMI), which were not recorded in the HFEA dataset. As the main analysis was cycle-based and we were unable to link cycles within women undergoing more than one IVF/ICSI cycle, we undertook a sub-group analysis on women undergoing their first treatment cycle. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Our findings should reassure women undergoing blastocyst-stage embryo transfer. For the first time, we have shown that babies born after blastocyst transfer have a similar chance of being healthy as those born after cleavage-stage embryos transfer. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) The research activity of Dr Nicola Marconi was funded by the scholarship ‘A. Griffini-J. Miglierina’, Fondazione Comunitaria del Varesotto, Provincia di Varese, Italy. The authors do not have any competing interests to disclose. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A


2008 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. S370
Author(s):  
M. Dangcil ◽  
P. Barton ◽  
D. Swihart ◽  
D. Erickson ◽  
J.A. Proctor ◽  
...  

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