Role of early cleavage in predicting success of Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection in assisted reproductive technologies

Abstract

The present study is aimed to carry out the impact of early cleavage over late cleavage in assessing the pregnancy outcome using of Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in assisted reproductive technologies. Materials and Methods A total of 154 patients enrolled for Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) fulfilling the selection criteria were recruited for the study at a tertiary care assisted reproductive centre. ICSI was performed 3–5 h after oocyte aspiration with the prepared sperm. All embryos were checked for early cleavage at 27 hours post intra cytoplasmic sperm injection. They were divided into two groups. Group IEmbryos which cleaved before 27 hours after Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). Group II- Embryos which cleaved after 27 hours. The pregnancy rates were compared between the two groups. Results: All the 154 patients were analysed. There was no difference in the mean age, duration of ovarian stimulation, number of oocytes retrieved, fertilization, cleavage rates and embryo quality between the two groups. Early cleavage was observed in 98 patients (63.64 %). Late cleavage was observed in 56 patients (36.36%). The clinical pregnancy was confirmed in 59 patients (60.20%) in Group I and 20 patients (35.71%) in Group II which was statistically significant P <0.001. Conclusion: Early cleavage is a strong predictor of embryo quality and can predict ICSI outcome.