title: Prognostic factors in patients continuing in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment and dropouts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether cumulative pregnancy rates using life table analysis but without considering dropouts are representative of the whole population of patients entering an in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University hospital-based infertility center.
  
  
  METHODS
  One thousand one hundred sixty-nine patients entering our IVF/ICSI program from January 1993 to December 1996.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparison of prognostic factors between pregnant and nonpregnant patients, and between patients continuing IVF/ICSI treatment and dropouts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prognostic factors, such as patient age, cancellation of oocyte retrieval because of poor response to ovarian stimulation, number of oocytes retrieved, fertilization rate, number and quality of embryos transferred.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No statistical differences in prognostic factors were found between patients continuing IVF/ICSI treatment and dropouts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cumulative pregnancy rates using life table analysis can be considered representative of the whole population of patients for at least the first three treatment cycles.
authors.affiliation: Infertility Centre, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium. marc.dhont@rug.ac.be
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: De Vries
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Sutter
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dhont
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000628:therapy; D015993:Life Tables; D009865:Oocytes; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011379:Prognosis; D019233:Retreatment; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting; D017211:Treatment Failure