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Influence of Catheter Type and Tenaculum Use on Intrauterine Insemination Outcome
Pinar Gulsen Coban1, Ayla Sargin Oruc2, Meryem Kuru Pekcan3
1Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Numune Education and Research Hospital, Ankara,Turkey.
Background:
We investigated the impact of the choice of catheter type and tenaculum use on pregnancy related outcomes in intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatments.
Materials And Methods:
A total of 338 consecutive IUI cycles were assessed in this retrospective study. Participants were divided according to the insemination technique - soft catheter (group 1; n=175), firm catheter (group 2; n=100), or tenaculum (group 3; n=63). Clinical, laboratory, semen parameters and pregnancy related outcomes were compared.
Results:
Demographic characteristics and laboratory parameters were similar between the groups (P>0.05). The clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) was significantly higher in the firm catheter (19%, 19/100) and tenaculum (31.7%, 20/63) groups compared to the soft catheter group (5.1%, 9/175),(P<0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups in live birth and miscarriage rates per clinical pregnancy (P>0.05).
Conclusion:
Our findings indicate that the use of a firm catheter or tenaculum for IUI might result in a higher CPR, but might not have a considerable effect on the live birth rate (LBR). Further prospective randomized studies are required to determine the long-term effects of the catheter type or tenaculum use on IUI success.
