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Strategy for embryo transfer to improve pregnancy outcomes in advanced maternal age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2022

Xue Wang Open the ORCID record for Xue Wang [Opens in a new window] ,
Yaling Xiao ,
Zhengyi Sun ,
Jingran Zhen  and
Qi Yu
Xue Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Gynecology Endocrine and Reproductive Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Disease, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
Yaling Xiao
Affiliation:
Department of Gynecology Endocrine and Reproductive Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Disease, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
Zhengyi Sun*
Affiliation:
Department of Gynecology Endocrine and Reproductive Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Disease, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
Jingran Zhen
Affiliation:
Department of Gynecology Endocrine and Reproductive Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Disease, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
Qi Yu
Affiliation:
Department of Gynecology Endocrine and Reproductive Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Disease, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
*
Author for correspondence: Zhengyi Sun. Department of Gynecology Endocrine and Reproductive Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Disease, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. E-mail: sunzhengyi2021@126.com
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Summary

The purpose of this retrospective study was to optimize the transplantation strategy for women of advanced maternal age to achieve live births within the shortest time. Data were collected from patients older than 40 years who underwent assisted reproductive therapy at our centre from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2019. In total, 1023 cases of fresh cleavage embryo transfer (CET) cycles, 280 cases of frozen–thawed blastocyst transfer (FBT) cycles, and 26 cases of frozen–thawed CET (FCET) cycles were included. The main outcome was the live birth rate (LBR). The secondary outcomes were the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and neonatal outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to adjust for confounding factors. The blastocyst formation rate of patients older than 40 years was 23.5%, the freezing cycle rate was 19.8%, and the fresh-embryo transfer rate was 83.0%. The implantation rate, CPR, and LBR were significantly different among the CET, FCET, and FBT groups. There were no significant differences in multiple pregnancies and abortion rates among the groups, and neonatal outcomes were similar. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, compared with the CET group, LBR did not increase in the FCET group, whereas LBR increased in the FBT group. For patients older than 40 years when having approximately eight embryos after fertilization, blastocyst transfer can be considered after fully discussing the advantages and disadvantages of blastocyst culture. Alternatively, CET can be performed first, followed by FBT if the cleavage embryo transfer is unsuccessful.

Keywords

Assisted reproductive technologyClinical pregnancyEmbryo transferIn vitro fertilizationLive birth
Type
Research Article
Information
Zygote , Volume 30 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 781 - 789
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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