title: Clinical study on embryo transfer after human in vitro fertilization.
abstract: One hundred forty-six embryo transfers were carried out in the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Clinic at St. Pierre Hospital, Brussels, between November 1983 and February 1985. In each of these cases a series of characteristics of the replacement procedure was systematically recorded. Analysis of these data in relation to pregnancy rates indicated that no significant differences appeared among three different operators, the absence or occurrence of cervical bleeding and subjective evaluation of the procedure were related to the chances of establishing a pregnancy, and the duration of replacement had no influence on the outcome of trials. A prospective randomized study of 100 replacements showed that no better pregnancy rate was obtained by placing patients in the knee-to-chest rather than the dorsal position and the addition of a rigid external sleeve to the catheter did not provide any advantage. A simplified method of replacement is thus advocated.
mesh_terms: D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D011187:Posture; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D014592:Uterine Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology