• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.182-186
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• 2012

Objective: Many studies have demonstrated that hydrosalpinx has a detrimental effect on the outcome of IVF. Treating hydrosalpinges prior to the IVF procedure in women with hydrosalpinges is thought to improve the likelihood of successful IVF outcome. Vaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration of hydrosalpinx fluid (HSF) with injection of the sclerosing agent in situ might be simpler than invasive procedures like salpingectomy. Therefore, we carried out a retrospective study on the effects of ultrasound-guided HSF aspiration and injection of the sclerosing agent of ultrasonically diagnosed hydrosalpinx on IVF outcome. Methods: In our retrospective study, 97 tubal factor infertile female patients that underwent IVF treatment between January 2005 and December 2012 at the Reproductive Medicine Center of CHA Hospital were divided into two study groups. Fifty-six patients underwent interventional ultrasound sclerotherapy (group 1), and the remaining 41 patients received laparoscopic salpingectomy (group 2) before IVF. We compared the IVF outcomes of the two groups. Results: The results showed that ultrasound-guided HSF aspiration and sclerotherapy have IVF outcomes comparable to laparoscopic salpingectomy. Conclusion: Interventional ultrasound guided sclerotherapy before IVF is an effective and less invasive prophylactic intervention alternative to salpingectomy with hydrosalpinx.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.293-299
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• 1995

Objective: To investigate the effects of sperm morphology and their co-incubation with oocytes on the outcome of IVF and ICSI. Design: Strict morphology of washed sperm was assessed by Diff-Quick staining method before or after insemination. And the relationships between strict morphology and outcome (fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy) of IVF(with co-incubation) and ICSI (without co-incubation) were determined. Patients: Two-hundreds-and-sixty-three cycles of IVF and ninety-six cycles of ICSI were analyzed in order to clarify the influence of strict sperm morphology of spermatozoa on outcome of IVF and ICSI. These were divided into four groups. according to fertilization method and sperm morphology(Group 1: IVF, ${\geq}$12%, n:227; Group 2: IVF, <12%, n:36; Group 3: ICSI, ${\geq}$ 12%, n=48; Group 4: ICSI, <12%, n=48). Results: The fertilization rates of better morphology groups were higher than those of poor groups: Group 1(68.1%) > Group 2(62.1%), Group 3(78.1%) > Group 4(71.5%). There was no difference in embryo cleavage rates among four groups (>90%), Regarded with the good embryo rates, Group 1(56.8%) was significantly higher than Group 2(42.3%)(P<0.01), but there was no difference between Group 3(64.7%) and Group 4(61.2%). The pregnancy rates were also higher in better morphology groups as well as fertilization rates: Group 1(34.8%)> Group 2(16.7%)(p<0.05), Group 3(40.0%) > Group 4(23.0%)(p=0.08). Conclusion: Co-incubation with poor morphology sperm might adversely affect the quality of embryos. And strict sperm morphology may represent the ability to establish successful pregnancy. In short, the strict sperm morphology can be a good predictor of IVF and ICSI outcome.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.221-225
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• 1995

A prospective study was undertaken to test whether immunosuppression improves implantation, pregnancy rates and their outcomes in an in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer( IVF-ET) cycles in patients with tubal factor infertility. The implantation and pregnancy rates was not significantly higher in patients recieving prednisolone than in control patients in routine IVF-ET cycles and unstimulated IVF-ET cycles. It can be concluded that prednisolone dose not support implantation and pregnancy outcomes of in routine IVF-ET cycles at least.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.179-183
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• 1999

This study was performed to determine the significance of a baseline ovarian cyst on the response to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and the outcome of IVF-ET. One hundred one patients who underwent IVF-ET were enrolled in this study. The outcome of 31 patients, who had an ovarian cyst of >10mm detected at ultrasound examination performed on day 3, was compared with that of 70 patients who underwent a similar protocol and did not have an ovarian cyst. E2 level on the day of hCG administration, the number of follicles, the number of oocytes retrieved, the number of embryo transferred and the pregnancy rate were evaulated. The E2 level on the day of hCG adminstration and the number of mature oocytes retrieved were lower in the group with a baseline cyst. The pregnancy rate also was significantly lower in the group with a cyst (21% versus 38%). Therefore a baseline ovarian cyst on cycle day 3 was associated with a poorer outcome after IVF-ET.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.287-294
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• 2002

Objectives: Pelvic tuberculosis (TB) causes infertility despite of anti-TB chemotherapy and IVF-ET is effective treatment to achieve pregnancy. The aim of this study is to assess the outcomes of IVF-ET in pelvic TB, especially according to main Tb lesion, and to investigate the factors affecting the successful outcome. Methods: A total of 135 IVF-ET cycles were performed in 54 patients with pelvic TB and the outcome was compared with that of control group with tubal factor not associated with TB in 301 cycles, 227 patients. Anti-TB chemotherapy was performed in the patients with pelvic TB. Pregnancy rate was compared according to main TB lesion as salpingitis, peritonitis, and endometritis. In the patients with endometrial TB, when complicated with uterine synechia, hysteroscopic lysis was done before IVF-ET and pregnancy rate was compared according to the presence of uterine synechia. Results: There was no significant difference in peak E2 ($2,790{\pm}280.1$ vs $2,554{\pm}101.2$, p>0.05), the number of retrieved oocytes ($13.5{\pm}0.7$ vs $12.5{\pm}0.4$, p>0.05) and fertilized oocytes ($7.7{\pm}0.5$ vs $7.8{\pm}0.3$, p>0.05) between patient and control group. Clinical pregnancy rate per transfer in pelvic TB group was 22.9% and showed no difference from that of control group (24.3%, p>0.05). Although it was not statistically significant, pregnancy rate in the endometrial Tb (18%) was lower than that in the salpingitis (28.5%) or peritonitis (26.5%) (p>0.05). In the endometrial TB with uterine synechia, pregnancy rate was significantly lower than that of the patients without synechia even after hysteroscopic lysis (9.7% vs 31.6%, p<0.05). Conclusion: IVF-ET after anti-TB chemotherapy is the most effective treatment to achieve pregnancy in infertile patients with pelvic TB. Because the presence of endometrial TB and resulting uterine synechia affects the outcome of IVF-ET, thorough evaluation for endometrium with endometrial biopsy and hysteroscopy is important to predict the prognosis of IVF-ET treatment.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.143-151
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• 1997

The present study was designed to investigate if antithyroid antibodies (ATA) could affect the pregnancy outcome in euthyroid women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). From October 1995 to September 1996, 28 euthyroid women with ATA who underwent IVF-ET were studied. Fifty-one euthyroid women without ATA who underwent IVF-ET served as control. Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOA) and thyroglobulin antibody (TGA) were assayed using radio ligand assay kits as ATA. All patients included in study and control groups had only tubal factor in infertility. Long protocol of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) was used for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) in all patients. There were no significant differences between study and control groups in patient characteristics such as age, infertility duration and hormonal profile. There were also no significant differences between two groups with respect to the clinical response to COH and IVF results such as number of retrieved oocytes, fertilization rate, number of embryos frozen and number of embryos transfered. There were no correlations between ATA (TPOA and TGA) titers and fertilization rate. The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle seemed to be lower in the study group than in the control group (26.3% vs 39.3%), but the difference was not statistically significant. The biochemical pregnancy rate per cycle and miscarriage rate were significantly higher in the study group at 18.4% (7/38) and 40.0% (4/10) compared with 5.6% (5/89) and 11.4% (4/35) in the control group. In the study group, both TPOA and TGA titers were significantly higher in the biochemical pregnancy group than in the clinical pregnancy group or non-pregnancy group. In 10 women with ATA who achieved pregnancy following IVF-ET, both TPOA and TGA titers were significantly higher in the miscarriage group than in the ongoing or delivery group. In conclusion, euthyroid women with ATA appear to represent a less favorable subset within other tubal factor patients when treated with IVF-ET.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2007

Objective: To compare the outcome of twin pregnancies after in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with that of spontaneously conceived twins. Methods: We analyzed 146 twins retrospectively, who had been delivered between January 2000 and July 2005. After reviewing their obstetric medical records, 72 twins conceived with IVF (IVF group) and 51 spontaneously conceived twins (spontaneous group), whose gestational age was over 24 weeks, were recruited for this study. Results: There were no significant statistical differences of demographic features such as maternal age, gestational age and fetal weight between the two groups. However, the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and gestational diabetes (G-DM) had significantly increased in the group of IVF (OR 2.59; 95% CI 1.01$\sim$6.66). The risk of fetal weight discordancy rate (>20%) and fetal-sex homology rate in IVF group were decreased (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.14$\sim$0.96, OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.21$\sim$0.99). Conclusion: In this comparative study, maternal PIH and G-DM risks of IVF group are higher than that of spontaneous group. But, fetal-weight discordancy risk and fetal-sex homology rate were lower in IVF group.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.28-32
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• 2012

Objective: This study was performed to assess the prognostic value of serum hCG, progesterone, and inhibin A levels measured at 11 days post-ET for predicting pregnancy outcome in women participating in IVF. Methods: Between May 2005 and April 2008, sera were obtained from 70 infertile women who underwent IVF-ET at 11 days post-ET and stored. HCG, progesterone, and inhibin A levels were measured by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The predictive accuracy of hCG, progesterone, and inhibin A levels for establishment of intrauterine pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy was calculated by receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. Results: For the prediction of intrauterine and ongoing pregnancy, serum hCG was better than progesterone and inhibin A. The predictive performance of progesterone and inhibin A was similar. The serum progesterone and inhibin A levels were significantly correlated each other (r=0.915, p=0.010). Conclusion: A single measurement of the serum hCG level is sufficient to predict pregnancy outcome in IVF-ET patients.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.323-329
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• 1998

The safety of ICSI as a novel procedure of assisted fertilization may be assessed by the health of the baby born. In order to evaluate the safety of ICSI, perinatal outcome and congenital anomaly of the babies born after ICSI were compared with those of babies born after IVF (control group). We analysed the clinical data from the obstetric and pediatric records, including the information obtained through telephone. The results are as follows; Mean gestational age $({\pm}SEM)$ and birth weight in singleton pregnancy were $38.8{\pm}1.9$ weeks and $3209.7{\pm}501.9gm$ in IVF group, $39.0{\pm}2.2$ weeks and $3289.9{\pm}479.5gm$ in ICSI group, respectively. Mean gestational age and birth weight in twins were $36.8{\pm}2.1$ weeks and $2512.8{\pm}468.0gm$ in IVF group, $36.5{\pm}2.8$ weeks and $2492.7{\pm}537.1gm$ in ICSI group. In IVF group, perinatal mortality rates were 8.5 in singletons and 56.6 in twins; for the ICSI singletons and ICSI twins, the perinatal mortality rates were 11.6 and 49.0, respectively. The incidence of congenital malformations was 3.6% (8/224) in IVF group and 2.1% (4/188) in ICSI group, there was no statistical difference (p>0.05, Fisher's exact test). The incidence of major congenital anomalies was 0.9% (2/224; pulmonary artery hypoplasia, renal cystic dysplasia) in IVF group and 1.1% (2/188; holoprosencephaly, Cri du chat syndrome) in ICSI groups (p>0.05, Fisher's exact test). Similarly, there was no significant difference in incidence of minor congenital anormalies 2.7% (6/224) in IVF group and 1.1% (2/188) in ICSI group respectively (p>0.05, Fisher's exact test). In conclusion, there was no difference in the perinatal outcome and the incidence of congenital anomalies between the babies born after ICSI and those after conventional IVF.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.225-233
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• 2001

Objective : To evaluate the efficacy of low-dose aspirin on IVF outcome and endometrium in patients undergoing IVF-ET. Materials and Methods : From February, 2001 to Jun, 2001, 60 infertile patients were randomly divided into study group (28 cycles) and control group (32 cycles). The study group received a daily oral dose of 25 mg of aspirin for at least 2 weeks from first visiting day. Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation was initiated in all patients with the GnRH agonist starting in the midluteal phase of the previous cycle. Results: There were no significant differences in age of the patients, basal serum E2, LH, FSH level and endometrial thickness among two groups. There were no statistically significant differences between the study group and the control group respectively in dosage ($26.5{\pm}4.8$ vs $26.2{\pm}5.3$ amples) and duration ($10.4{\pm}4.2$ vs $9.8{\pm}5.3$ days) of gonadotropin administration, serum E2 level on the hCG administration day ($1823{\pm}342$ vs $1854{\pm}543$), LH ($14.5{\pm}2.7$ vs $14.8{\pm}3.1$), FSH ($16.7{\pm}3.4$ vs $18.3{\pm}4.7$), the number of follicles > 15 mm ($13.2{\pm}6.3$ vs $12.8{\pm}5.9$), the number of oocytes retrieved ($9.2{\pm}2.4$ vs $8.4{\pm}1.7$), the number of embryos transferred ($4.7{\pm}2.0$ vs $4.7{\pm}2.0$), fertilization rate (68.4% vs 64.5%), implantation rate (21.3% vs 17.6%), and clinical pregnancy rate (28.4% vs 26.2%). The endometrial thickness and the percentage of endometrial trilaminar pattern on hCG day were significantly higher in study group than control group ($12.9{\pm}3.7mm$ vs $10.4{\pm}2.8mm$, 78.3% vs 64.5%). Conclusion: Many reports suggest that low-dose aspirin improve ovarian response, implantation rate, fertilization rate, implantation rate, and pregnancy rate by increasing the blood flow, but we couldn't prove the significant effect of low-dose aspirin on the IVF outcome except on endometrium. This may be affected by dose of aspirin, duration, and number of patients studied. This trial is small, so our results highlight the need for a large randomized controlled trial to identify the effect of low-dose as pirin on IVF-ET outcome.