Assisted hatching in the treatment of poor prognosis in vitro fertilization candidates.
OBJECTIVE
To access the effect of augmenting IVF with assisted hatching in the treatment of poor-prognosis patients.


METHODS
Thirty-three poor-prognosis IVF patients were treated with assisted hatching and were compared with 43 control subjects without assisted hatching.


METHODS
Center for Reproductive Medicine, Swedish Medical Center, Englewood, Colorado.


METHODS
Seventy-six women undergoing IVF with a poor prognosis for pregnancy. Poor prognosis was defined as Elevated day 3 FSH level; age > or = 39 years; and multiple prior IVF failures.


METHODS
Pregnancy and implantation rates per embryo.


RESULTS
The incidence of ongoing pregnancy in the assisted hatching group was 64% compared with 19% in the control group. Implantation rate per embryo transferred was 33% in the assisted hatching group versus 6.5% in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate that assisted hatching, when applied to poor-prognosis patients, improves embryonic implantation and pregnancy rates.
Schoolcraft
W B
WB
Center for Reproductive Medicine, Swedish Medical Center, Englewood, Colorado 80110.
Schlenker
T
T
Gee
M
M
Jones
G S
GS
Jones
H W
HW
D000328:Adult; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D008846:Micromanipulation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D012099:Reproductive Techniques