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Single Euploid Embryo Transfer Outcomes after Uterine Septum Resection

Study Objective: To study pregnancy outcomes after single euploid embryo transfer (SEET) in patients who underwent prior uterine septum resection to those with uteri of normal contour, without M€ullerian anomalies or uterine abnormalities including polyps or fibroids, and without a history of prior uterine surgeries.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Single academic affiliated center.

Patients: 60 cycles of patients with prior hysteroscopic uterine septum resection who underwent an autologous SEET
between 2012 and 2020 were used as the investigational cohort. A 3:1 ratio propensity score matched control cohort of 180 single euploid embryo transfer cycles from patients without a history of uterine septa were used as the control group.

Interventions: No interventions administered.

Measurements and Main Results: Pregnancy, clinical pregnancy loss, ongoing clinical pregnancy, and live birth rates in patients with a history of uterine septum resection compared with matched patients without M€ullerian anomalies or uterine surgeries.
Patients with a prior uterine septum had significantly lower rates of chemical pregnancy (58.33% vs 77.2%, p = .004), implantation (41.67% vs 65.6%, p = .001), and live birth (33.33% vs 57.8%, p = .001) per transfer. No statistical difference in clinical pregnancy loss rates was found when comparing septum patients with controls (8.33% vs 7.8%, p = .89).

Conclusion: Patients with a history of hysteroscopic resection who undergo in vitro fertilization are more susceptible to suboptimal clinical outcomes compared with patients with normal uteri. Early pregnancy loss rates in patients with a uterine septum are higher than in those without; however, after resection, the rates are comparable. Patients born with septate uteri require assessment of surgical intervention prior to SEET, and to optimize their reproductive outcomes. Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (2024) 00, 1−6. © 2024 AAGL. All rights reserved.

Correlation of self‑reported racial background to euploidy status and live birth rates in assisted reproductive technology cycles

Purpose To determine whether the embryonic euploidy rate and live birth outcomes following single, euploid embryo
transfer (SEET) difer among women of self-reported racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Methods This retrospective cohort study included all infertile patients of diferent self-reported racial backgrounds who underwent In vitro fertilization (IVF) with preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) and an autologous single euploid embryo transfer (SEET) from December 2015 to December 2019 at a single private and academic assisted reproduction technology center. Primary outcome measures included ploidy rates among diferent racial groups. Secondary outcomes included clinical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy loss, and live birth rates.

Results Five thousand fve hundred sixty-two patients who underwent an IVF cycle with ICSI-PGT-A were included. A
total of 24,491 blastocysts were analyzed. White participants had on average more euploid embryos and higher euploidy
rates when compared to their counterparts (p≤0.0001). However, after controlling for confounding factors, there was no
association between race and the odds of having a higher euploidy rate (aOR 1.31; 95% CI 0.63–2.17, p=0.42). A total of
4949 patients underwent SEET. Pregnancy outcomes did not difer among patients of varying self-reported races.

Conclusions Euploidy rates and pregnancy outcomes were comparable among patients of diferent racial backgrounds who underwent a SEET.

Effect of Postthaw Change in Embryo Score on Single Euploid Embryo Transfer Success Rates

Objective: To assess whether the change in embryo morphology from precryopreservation to postthaw is associated with the embryo transfer success rates in single euploid embryo transfer cycles.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Academic affiliated fertility clinic.

Patient(s): Patients who underwent a single euploid embryo transfer cycle from September 2016 to April 2022 were included. A decision support tool was used to assign each embryo a reproductive potential score on the basis of the day of biopsy, expansion, and grade of trophectoderm and inner cell mass at the time of cryopreservation and after thaw. Embryos were divided into 4 groups: group 1included embryos with the same score after thaw (reference); group 2 included those with a higher score; group 3 included those with a lower score; and group 4 included those that did not re-expand after thaw.

Intervention(s): No interventions administered.

Main Outcome Measure(s): The primary outcome was the live birth rates (LBRs) per embryo transfer. The secondary outcomes included the chemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and clinical pregnancy loss rates. Comparative statistics and univariate analyses were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis and c2 tests. Multivariate logistic regression fitted with generalized estimating equation was performed to compare the odds of live birth between groups.

Result(s): A total of 7,750 embryo transfers performed for 4,613 patients met inclusion criteria: 5,331 in group 1; 486 in group 2; 1,726 in group 3; and 207 in group 4. In the univariate analysis, there was a statistically significant difference in the LBR between groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 (55.8% vs. 51.4%, 47.5%, and 26.6%). Logistic regression controlling for oocyte age, antimullerian hormone, body mass index, € endometrial thickness, year of embryo transfer, time from thaw to final grading, and embryo score before cryopreservation showed significantly lower odds of live birth when the embryo was downgraded (odds ratio [OR], 0.70; confidence interval [CI], 0.62–0.79) or did not re-expand (OR, 0.36; CI, 0.26–0.51) than those with no change in score. When controlling for all variables, there was a significant increase in the odds of live birth between embryos that had a higher score after thaw and those without a change (OR, 1.42; CI, 1.14–1.76). There was no significant difference in the clinical pregnancy loss rate among the 4 groups.

Conclusion(s): The change in the quality of the embryo after thaw is an important factor in embryo transfer success. In an adjusted analysis, the chemical and clinical pregnancy rates and LBR per embryo transfer all significantly decrease in embryos that were downgraded or did not expand on the day of single euploid embryo transfer. Embryos that re-expand and have improved quality after thaw have the highest odds of live birth. (Fertil Steril
2024;-:-–-. 2024 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)

Rescue in vitro maturation using ovarian support cells of human oocytes from conventional stimulation cycles yields oocytes with improved nuclear maturation and transcriptomic resemblance to in vivo matured oocytes

Purpose: Determine if the gene expression profles of ovarian support cells (OSCs) and cumulus-free oocytes are bidirectionally infuenced by co-culture during in vitro maturation (IVM).

Methods: Fertility patients aged 25 to 45 years old undergoing conventional ovarian stimulation donated denuded immature oocytes for research. Oocytes were randomly allocated to either OSC-IVM culture (intervention) or Media-IVM culture (control) for 24–28 h. The OSC-IVM culture condition was composed of 100,000 OSCs in suspension culture with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH), androstenedione, and doxycycline supplementation. The Media-IVM control lacked OSCs and contained the same supplementation. A limited set of in vivo matured

MII: oocytes were donated for comparative evaluation. Endpoints consisted of MII formation rate, morphological and spindle quality assessment, and gene expression analysis compared to in vitro and in vivo controls.

Results: OSC-IVM resulted in a statistically signifcant improvement in MII formation rate compared to the Media-IVM
control, with no apparent efect on morphology or spindle assembly. OSC-IVM MII oocytes displayed a closer transcriptomic maturity signature to IVF-MII controls than Media-IVM control MII oocytes. The gene expression profle of OSCs was modulated in the presence of oocytes, displaying culture- and time-dependent diferential gene expression during IVM.

Conclusion: The OSC-IVM platform is a novel tool for rescue maturation of human oocytes, yielding oocytes with improved nuclear maturation and a closer transcriptomic resemblance to in vivo matured oocytes, indicating a potential enhancement in oocyte cytoplasmic maturation. These improvements on oocyte quality after OSC-IVM are possibly occurring through bidirectional crosstalk of cumulus-free oocytes and ovarian support cells.

In Vitro Fertilization and Early Pregnancy Outcomes After Coronavirus Disease 2019 {COVID-19} Vaccination

Aharon D, Lederman M, Ghofranian A, Hernandez-Nieto C, Canon C, Hanley W, Gounko D, Lee JA, Stein …