Polar Body Biopsy Helps in Reducing the Total Pregnancy Loss Rates in Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Cycles.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Embryology
• Genetics

Background:

• Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a key assisted reproductive technology.
• Polar body biopsy (PBB) is a technique used in conjunction with ICSI to assess embryonic or oocyte genetic material.
• The impact of PBB on pregnancy outcomes requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of polar body biopsy (PBB) on pregnancy and pregnancy loss rates in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.
• To compare outcomes between ICSI cycles with and without PBB.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective case-control study involving 147 ICSI embryo transfer cycles.
• Comparison of 31 patients undergoing ICSI with PBB (case group) versus 51 patients undergoing ICSI without PBB (control group).
• Analysis of pregnancy, implantation, yolk sac detection, fetal heartbeat, live birth, and pregnancy loss rates after single blastocyst transfer.

Main Results:

• While implantation, yolk sac, and fetal heartbeat rates were numerically lower in the PBB group, differences were not statistically significant.
• The live birth rate was numerically higher in the PBB group, also without statistical significance.
• A significant reduction in the total pregnancy loss rate was observed in the ICSI with PBB group (9.50%) compared to the ICSI without PBB group (22.60%, p=0.04).

Conclusions:

• Polar body biopsy may be beneficial in ICSI cycles, particularly for cases involving suspected genetic abnormalities or maternal conditions.
• The study suggests PBB can potentially improve overall ICSI outcomes by reducing pregnancy loss.
• Larger patient samples are needed to definitively confirm these findings and support clinical recommendations.