Comparing the pregnancy outcomes of fresh and frozen embryo transfer after early rescue ICSI

Abstract

Abstract Context: Early-rescue intracytoplasmic sperm injection (R-ICSI) can avoid total fertilization failure in conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, the R-ICSI embryos had lower implantation rate than the direct ICSI in the fresh embryo transfer. Aims: To investigate the effect of frozen embryo transfer (FET)after R-ICSI. Methods: This was a retrospective study of the first cycle primary infertility patients with the age ≤ 35 undergoing R-ICSI and ICSI treatment. The clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate, ectopic pregnancy, abortion rate and live birth rate were analyzed between the R-ICSI and ICSI groups in their first embryo transfer (fresh and FET cycles). Key Results: The average age of patients in fresh and frozen ET of two groups was (29.1±3.1 vs. 29.0±3.2, and 28.9±3.0 vs. 29.1±3.3), respectively (P>0.05). The R-ICSI embryos clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate and live birth rate were lower than the ICSI embryos in fresh embryo transfer. Whereas there were no significant difference between R-ICSI and ICSI embryos in the FET cycle. Conclusions: R-ICSI embryos with frozen embryo transfer would be an optimal strategy rather than fresh embryo transfers. Implications:early R-ICSI combined with frozen embryo transfer could achieve satisfying clinical outcomes compared with fresh embryo transfers.