The association of embryo quality with the number of days of ovarian stimulation in women undergoing IVF/ICSI-ET cycle- a prospective observational study

Abstract

Objective: An attempt was made to evaluate the impact of the length of ovarian stimulation on the embryo quality, with recommended strength of gonadotropin doses in women who underwent IVF/ICSI-ET cycles. Setting: Women, who underwent oocyte retrieval and fresh embryo transfer between August 2019 and November 2019, were evaluated. Design: Prospective observational study. Method: Women with primary and secondary infertility were recruited from the OPD. Ovarian stimulation was started with gonadotropins according to our center’s protocol (Antagonist protocol). Oocyte retrieval was performed approximately 36 hours after the hCG administration (trigger) followed by IVF/ICSI. Fertilization analysis was performed approximately 16 to 18 hours postinsemination. After fertilization, embryo scoring was carried out on the day of embryo transfer procedure. The primary outcome was the development of good quality embryos in relation to the days of ovarian stimulation. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS) 21.0 software package (IBM Corporation, USA): Chi-square test for categorical variables, nonparametric Kruskal Wallis test, ANOVA test, and Pearson correlation for continuous variables were applied. These tests were applied as appropriate and statistically significant level calculated at P < 0.05. Results: The length of ovarian stimulation has little impact on the quality of embryo and pregnancy outcome. Conclusion: The length of ovarian stimulation has little impact on the quality of embryo and pregnancy outcome. Future studies on large number with proper randomization are invited to be conducted to confirm the finding of present study.