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The choice of embryo transfer catheter affects embryo implantation after IVF
J Meriano1, A Weissman, E M Greenblatt
1Division of Reproductive Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Toronto Centre for Advanced Reproductive Technology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Objective:
Comparison of two transfer catheters in an IVF program.
Design:
Prospective, randomized clinical study.
Setting:
A private tertiary care center for ART.
Patient(S):
66 patients < 38 years of age undergoing IVF and/or ICSI.
Intervention(S):
Patients were randomly assigned to undergo ET using the Tomcat catheter (n = 32) or the TDT catheter (n = 34).
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Primary outcome measures were implantation and pregnancy rates. Secondary outcome measures were contamination with blood and/or mucus on the tip of the catheter, cramping or patient discomfort, and time required to complete ET.
Result(S):
Use of the Tomcat catheter resulted in significantly higher implantation (25.2% vs. 8.4%) and clinical pregnancy rates (47% vs. 14.7%) compared with the TDT catheter. All secondary outcome measures were similar for both catheters.
Conclusion(S):
The choice of ET catheter may affect the success of IVF-ET cycles. Use of the Tomcat catheter compared with the TDT catheter seems to result in significantly better efficiency of the ET procedure and is more cost effective.