title: Expectations for oocyte fertilization and embryo cleavage after whole sperm versus sperm head intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare oocyte fertilization and embryo development after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with a whole sperm vs. a sperm head.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital-based IVF practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-three women undergoing 54 IVF-embryo transfer plus ICSI procedures between January 1999 and June 2002.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  Oocyte fertilization, zygote cleavage, and embryo stage after 72 hours of culture.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significantly higher fertilization rate was observed using whole sperm (72.2%) than when using sperm heads (56.4%). Zygote cleavage rates for whole sperm vs. sperm head ICSI were 96.4% and 92.7%, respectively. Embryo cell stage after 72 hours of culture for whole sperm vs. sperm head ICSI was 6.5 +/- 2.1 cells and 5.6 +/- 1.8 cells, respectively. Embryo grade at this same time point was not different (2.3 +/- 1.0 and 2.5 +/- 0.9, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ICSI using whole sperm produces superior fertilization rates compared to ICSI using sperm heads, but once oocytes were fertilized, zygote cleavage rates were not different between the two sperm sources. Oocytes injected with a whole sperm produced embryos of higher cell stage but equivalent quality compared to oocytes injected with sperm heads. Therefore, having only sperm heads for use in ICSI should not be a deterrent to using this procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Greenville Hospital System, South Carolina 29605-5601, USA. jejohnson@ghs.org
authors.forename: Jane E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: H Lee
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Higdon
authors.forename: Dawn W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Blackhurst
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Boone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002452:Cell Count; D002970:Cleavage Stage, Ovum; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013077:Sperm Head; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013094:Spermatozoa